Growing Up Too Fast
by Discretion Assured
Summary: One night. One decision. Nine months and eighteen years of consequence.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So some people will immediately notice that this story has similar themes to another Ronniecoln story I'm writing. That one is more episodic and has an emphasis on humor. This is a longer, slower, and more character driven story.

* * *

"Surprise!" A large crowd of youths and adults yelled as they pushed through a door and into a small bedroom. Ronnie Anne Santiago tumbled out of her bed and onto the floor. She wrestled with her blanket before jumping up with her fists raised. She put them down when she realized it was only her family.

"Seriously guys?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her bedside clock said it was only three past seven in the morning. Did they really want to start this day that early? It was even a Saturday! A camera flashed from within the group, causing her to flinch.

"Happy birthday _Mija_!" Her _abuela _came forward from the group to pull her into a hug. The years passed meant that now a hug from the stout woman only enveloped her below the shoulders. It was no less tight though.

"Happy birthday, Ronnie Anne." Her mother came in and joined the hug. She was still shorter than her mother though.

"Happy Birthday!" CJ said excitedly as he threw a big handful of confetti into the air, letting it scatter all over the room and into the three hugging females' hair.

"Okay, okay." Ronnie Anne squirmed herself out of both embraces. "I'm glad you guys are excited, but do we really have to start this early? We agreed it isn't a big deal."

"Actually," Her uncle tried to correct her. "15 was considered the coming of age in a lot of other societies, like-"

"Yeah, I agree with her." Carl cut off his father. He was rubbing his eyes and it looked like his family had dragged him out of bed for this. "What's the point until you can drive?"

"Well, I think we should celebrate!" Rosa insisted. The woman turned to her granddaughter. "_Mija, _I know you didn't want a _quinceanera_, but we can still celebrate?" She asked hopefully.

Turning fifteen was meant to be a really important event for a girl in Hispanic culture. It was supposed to mark that transition from a girl into a woman. A _quinceanera _was basically a big party celebrating that. Ronnie Anne's grandparents, lovable but old-fashioned as they were, seemed really excited about the prospect of one for her. Carlota had got one when she turned 15.

Ronnie Anne hadn't really been feeling up to it. She'd never been as interested or knowledgeable about traditions; her mom and dad never really raised Bobby and her on them and she'd kind of developed her own interests. She wanted a less festive celebration, like the kind she grew up with. Something casual. Everyone could just hand her their gifts and they could maybe have a big dinner and that was it.

Her _abuela _had picked up on her reluctance when she kept talking excitedly about it, and eventually extracted the truth out of her, that she didn't really want one. She seemed disappointed, but she respected Ronnie Anne's desires. No _quinceanera_ for today, but she still wanted to celebrate in style if the wakeup call was anything to go by. The teenager couldn't deny her grandma that, and it wouldn't kill her to drop the tough girl act for a little while. She'd still wanted to do _something_ on this day anyway.

"Fine." Ronnie Anne yawned. "Just let me wake up first." Her grandmother clapped excitedly.

"Good! Cause I already stayed up two hours making a breakfast feast!" She revealed. "Come out when you are ready. You can all have some now!" She told the rest of the family, and predictably they scrambled out of the doorway and to the kitchen. She followed them out, leaving only mother and daughter in the room.

"Forgive your _abuela_ if she gets a little excited today." Maria told her daughter. "_Quinceanera_s are the only thing she gets excited for more than holidays."

"Yeah, I know." Ronnie Anne shrugged. "I just said I wanted something casual. I didn't say we couldn't do anything." Her mother looked relieved.

"Come have some breakfast after you get dressed." She told her, closing the door as she left. Left alone, the birthday girl took her time to really stretch and wake up. Fifteen. She smiled to herself. Her life through the years didn't change that much: go to school, hang with her friends, get into hijinks with her family, and skateboard. But she could still appreciate getting older, getting bigger, and new doors opening up.

She changed and made a trip to the bathroom before strolling out into the main area where the table was set up. It was absolutely stacked with food and everyone was digging in.

She plopped down in her usual chair and started digging in herself. At first glance, it looked like any regular breakfast. The whole family was here, as Rosa insisted on it even if half lived in another apartment. But there was definitely more food than usual. Still the same amount though: too much. There was something missing though, something that actually disappointed her.

"You didn't ask dad to come over for breakfast?" Ronnie Anne asked. Rosa dropped her spoon in surprise and glanced frantically around the table. Ronnie Anne's father wasn't there, nor had he been there all morning, she was just now realizing.

"Hector!" She scolded her husband. "I told you to go get him!"

"Forgot." The elderly man shrugged. Even after all this time, the two of them still didn't get along so well.

"Ooh, you men and your fights!" She fumed. "Don't worry, _mija_. I'll go get him right now." She promised Ronnie Anne and hurried out of the apartment.

"What?" Hector asked as his daughter and granddaughter gave him the stink eye.

Arturo lived in the same building as his ex-wife and daughter, just not the same apartment. So it didn't take Rosa very long to bring the man back. He was still in slippers and holding a thermos full of coffee, but he'd still let himself be dragged over. When they came through the door, Ronnie Anne jumped up to go hug her father.

"Happy birthday, Ronnie Anne." He hugged her with his free arm. "Fifteen. The years go by so fast."

"I'm just glad you're here to see them." He'd stayed true to his word. Four years and he'd never tried to go back to his old job abroad. She gave him another squeeze and let go. "Come on, _abuela _made breakfast." They sat back down at the table. Ronnie's dad and grandfather pointedly ignored each other. Her mother and father curtly acknowledged each other by name. They still weren't on the best terms, but they never let it show in front of their kids. Especially on one's birthday.

"Ronnie Anne, what kind of cake do you want?" Her grandma asked. "And dinner. It's your day, _mija,_ I'll make whatever you want."

"Chocolate's fine. And can we just order pizza?" She asked. She liked pizza; she was a simple girl. Rosa looked slightly offended for just a brief moment before nodding.

"Of course!" She agreed.

Even though it was a Saturday, Ronnie Anne's parents still had to work. Medical services and charity organizations were open 24/7. They did important work, so she couldn't really fault them. The rest of the family would be here all day anyway. But they could end up working late.

When it had still just been her, Bobby, and their mom living together, Maria had always left her daughter's presents out for her to open on her own just in case she worked late. It was a bittersweet way of doing things. Now though? Both her parents were here. Everyone was up early. They could just do presents now. They got the little things out of the way first.

"I made you a card." CJ held out his homemade creation. She took it and opened it to see a drawing he'd made.

"Thanks, CJ." She put a hand over her heart to show her appreciation.

"I got you a card too, cuz." Carl smoothly spun one out from behind him, store bought instead of handmade. "Have some green." Ronnie Anne opened the card and quickly grabbed two pieces of money that fell out. Exactly…15$ bucks. How clever.

"Wow. Thanks." She said flatly. Carl, either oblivious or pleased with is wit, did some finger guns.

The adults obviously had better gifts.

Her parents had, separately, gotten her different items from one of her skateboarding catalogs. Protective gloves from her mother and a set of colored wheels from her father. Ronnie Anne was still really into the skating scene. She'd even participated in a few stunt contests last year, so she really appreciated it.

Her grandma had her stand up and, carefully and lovingly, put a silver necklace around her neck. Real silver, one of the magic trinkets the old woman believed in earnest. "It'll keep you healthy." She promised.

She expected her uncle Carlos would gift her a book. He was an academic and bookworm, after all. All her previous birthdays, she'd gotten books. But he'd been a skateboarder himself, so he knew exactly what kind of books to get her. The history of skateboarding. Biographies on famous skateboarders. Trick guides. And even manuals on modifying and creating your own skateboard. There was a great section in one of those books about making an electric skateboard she really wanted to try someday. And she was right-she got a big book again, but this time on some of the other outdoors sports she had a passing interesting in: bmx, go-carts, and others.

Aunt Frida was a wild card when it came to gifts. Three previous birthdays of her own and being there for other family birthdays made Ronnie Anne very aware of that. It was always sentimental, but it could range from bizarre to ugly or creepy. She got lucky this year. It was a t-shirt…of herself. A picture Frida had taken of her tearing up a halfpipe, but printed on a shirt. Pretty cool, even if she didn't see herself wearing it in public.

Carlitos had 'chosen' a gift for her. Stickers. It was not a childish item at all, it was actually very important to the style aspect of skating! But given that the subject matter of the stickers fit Ronnie Anne so perfectly, she was almost certain her aunt and uncle had picked those out too. Still, she played along and thanked the 5-year-old for his great gift.

But the best thing? Since it was her birthday, Ronnie Anne got full reign over the tv for the whole day. She wasn't going to use all of it. She intended to go hang in the city with Sid later. But she was content with spending the rest of the morning, after seeing her parents off, slumped on the couch watching sports.

Carlota arrived fifteen minutes to eight, on her own and carrying a large, unwrapped, box. Ronnie Anne got excited for a moment and actually jumped up. Carl took the chance to steal the remote, even if it was for only a few seconds.

"Hey, _prima_." Carlota pulled Ronnie Anne into a hug. "No fanfare?" She glanced around the apartment, looking as normal as it did every day. She let go.

"Hey, I wanted it casual." Ronnie Anne shrugged.

"You could've at least thrown up some balloons." Her cousin suggested. She rolled her eyes.

"That my present?" Ronnie Anne reached for the box.

"Yeah…" Carlota rubbed the back of her head while her little cousin pulled it open. There was a moment of silence as the birthday girl spent a solid ten seconds frozen over the open box before looking up again.

"A dress?" She asked incredulously. Her cousin knew she wasn't into fashion.

"Well…" Her cousin explained. "It's a _quinceanera _dress. I got it made it before you decided against having one. Come on, _prima_, every girl needs at least one dress." Ronnie Anne didn't like dresses at all. But she wasn't heartless and she definitely wasn't going to be a brat about it. Carlota had probably spent a lot of money and time getting this.

"You're right. Thanks, Carlota." Her cousin smiled.

"Wait till you're 18. I'll get you much better gifts." She promised. Both shut up when they noticed their grandmother approaching, thinking she was about to scold Carlota for such a suggestive promise. Instead, she tittered excitedly as she got a look at the gift Carlota had gotten.

"It's so pretty!" She exclaimed, picking it up so everyone could see. Physically, it wasn't much different from say, a ball gown. But it was really wide near the bottom. So wide that it completely obscured their short grandmother as she held it up above her head. It was also purple, the color motif Ronnie Anne had chosen for herself and stubbornly clung onto for the past half-decade. What could she say, she was a creature of comfort. Her _abuela_ set it down and looked at her hopefully. The teen knew what was coming.

"Please, Ronnie Anne. Just try it on? One picture, that's it." She clasped her hands together hopefully. Ronnie Anne rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. She _really_ didn't like dresses. But it was for her _abuela_. No one else would see. Hopefully.

"…Fine." She relented. The old woman hopped in excitement.

"Frida, get the camera ready!" She called as Ronnie Anne disappeared into her room. She came out five minutes later actually wearing the thing. Getting through the door and hallway required her holding onto the sides and holding them in. The only place she could wear it normally was by standing in the middle of the living room, much to her family's delight.

She stood there trying not to blush too hard as the compliments cascaded over her and her aunt's camera flashed repeatedly.

Then the apartment door opened and Ronnie Anne nearly bolted into her room. "Hey everyone!" She relaxed when she realized it was Bobby. Lori was with him, although surprisingly they hadn't brought either of their two kids with them. "Wow, Ronnie Anne, nice dress." Bobby complimented.

"Aw, she looks so pretty." Lori beamed at the annoyed birthday girl.

"I'm not wearing it all day!" She snapped.

"Ah hah!" Rosa pointed at her grandson in an accusatory fashion. "And where were you? I called four times!"

"Getting _nini's_ gift." Bobby explained. "Had to wake up at midnight just to make the drive." He yawned to prove it. While Ronnie Anne was curious as to what her older brother had gotten her, she was suddenly more concerned with the evil looking smirk Lori was giving her. She got along with her sister-in-law well enough, but the woman had her moments of being the worst. And Ronnie Anne was getting that vibe right now. "See." Bobby stepped back to the front door and opened it again.

A boy with white hair stepped in, dressed in a red jacket and blue jeans to deal with the brisk temperatures outside. Lincoln Loud. Ronnie Anne's best friend/long-range boyfriend was somehow here. "Hey Ronnie Anne." He waved, blushing when he saw what she was wearing. "You…look pretty." He coughed, much to the amusement of the adult women in the room.

Now Ronnie Anne panicked. She didn't mind her family seeing her wearing something like this. But Lincoln? No way. Without responding, she turned and fled from the living room. She got lucky and managed to disappear into the hallway out of sight before the dress caused her to trip and hit the floor.

A loud "_Mierda!_" drifted out from the hallway, scandalizing the adults before the sound of a door slamming. But Lincoln found it funny.

"Hi everyone." He greeted the rest of the family while Ronnie Anne wasn't there.

"Hello, Lincoln!" Rosa greeted. "Did Bobby really drive you all the way here?"

"We arranged it with my parents weeks ago." Lori explained, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder. "He wanted to do something special for his little sister on her birthday." It was clear how touched she was by her man's thoughtfulness. Bobby confirmed it another nod and yawn.

"How sweet! The more the merrier!" The old woman said, grabbing Lincoln's arm and then Bobby's. "You two must be hungry after that long drive. There's still some breakfast leftovers!" She pulled them forcefully towards the table. "Eat! Eat!" She insisted.

"Thanks." Lincoln took the offer and sat down, using the opportunity to catch up with CJ and Carl. The rest of her family hadn't seen him in person for well over a year by this point. He didn't have any means of travel since Lori had moved out here. But they still remembered him fondly, both as a nice boy and Ronnie Anne's 'best friend'. The two of them talked on line practically every single day; They knew there was some kind of special connection between them.

Ronnie Anne came back out, now dressed in a pair of black jeans and a muscle shirt of the same color. She tried to act cool, like she hadn't just fled in terror and busted her face in the process. She strolled up casually behind the boy that had caused it and, gently, gave the back of his head a little shove directly into the plate he'd made himself.

"Hey, Lame-o." She said when he lifted his messy face up.

"Ronnie Anne!" The adults admonished her at once. But Carl and CJ were laughing.

"_Mija_, you can't treat your guests like that!" Rosa handed the boy a towel.

"It's fine." Lincoln said after wiping off his face. Then he reached around and punched Ronnie Anne in the shoulder and the two laughed about it.

"So how the heck did you get here?" She sat down next to him. In response, Lincoln pointed to Bobby.

"Happy Birthday, _nini. _I thought having another friend to celebrate with would make it better." Her brother had driven six hours just so the boy she liked could be here? That was really great of him.

"Thanks, Bobby." She said. Then she eyed Lincoln and went back to her usual self. "I mean, he's better than nothing." She elbowed him in the side, and Lincoln elbowed her back.

"Smile, you guys." Lori stood across the table from them and pulled her phone out to take a photo. Lincoln did beam. Ronnie Anne tried not to, but Lori did capture her with the ends of her mouth tilted up. Damn Lincoln and his intoxicating positivity.

She had a new plan for the day now. She went back to her room and grabbed one of her hoodies. "Come on, Lincoln. Let's hit the city like we always do." She grabbed him under his armpit and pulled him up.

Behind them, Rosa started whispering to her husband about something, but Carlota set her straight and said it out loud. "_Abuela_, it's her birthday. Let her spend it with her boyfriend."

"He's not." Ronnie Anne spun around and pointed an accusatory finger. Carlota just winked at her. Not wanting to argue the point and face further embarrassment, she addressed her grandmother.

"We'll be back later when my mom and dad are done with work." She swore. "Maybe we can have an actual party then? She suggested. Those were the magic words. Her _abuela's_ eyes glowed in excitement.

"Of course, of course!" She said enthusiastically, suddenly all for it. "You two go have fun and we'll set one up. But bundle up!" She added quickly. It was chilly today.

"I know." Was Ronnie Anne's half-joking, half-annoyed response. She went around the table to hug Bobby and tell him have to have a nice day working the bodega. Then she came back around and threw her arm over Lincoln's shoulder in a very loose chokehold. "Let's go." He let her pull him towards the door.

"Have fun!" Carl made mocking kissing noises, causing the teens to cringe. They got out of there even faster.

Once they were out the apartment, and Ronnie Anne was satisfied no one could see them, they exchanged a much more friendly greeting. "It's great to see you, Lincoln." She gave him a hug.

"You too." He hugged her back. "I wouldn't have thought of this if Bobby didn't suggest it. Lori was worried I'd spoil it over our video calls."

"'Cause you're an idiot." Ronnie Anne snarked playfully. "And you're a little kid." She shrugged. "But I guess I can still spend time with you." Lincoln was the younger one between them by a few months, so he was still 14. For a little while at least, Ronnie Anne could brag she was a year older than him though.

"I'm still taller." He reminded her. She put her palm flat across the top of her head, then swung it out towards Lincoln, hitting his forehead with a little force. He was definitely taller.

"Whatever." She said when he grinned.

"That was a nice dress." He changed the subject. Ronnie Anne's eyes narrowed, and she leaned in towards him despite the just established height difference.

"What dress?" She asked dangerously.

"The one you were wearing when I walked in." He said fearlessly. "You looked really pretty." The scowl on Ronnie Anne's face trembled till she exhaled and gave up the intimidation act. The years had made him wiser. He could mess with her just as well now.

"Dang it, Lincoln…" She mumbled, turning around. She was sure Lincoln was laughing to himself behind her. To hide her embarrassment, she started walking downstairs, figuring he'd follow her, and got her phone out of her pocket. She needed to tell Sid they wouldn't be hanging out, at least not yet. Yeah, all three of them could've gone out together…but Ronnie Anne preferred just Lincoln at the moment. Her neighbor picked up on the third ring with a yawn. Even Sid didn't wake up early on a Saturday.

"Hey Ronnie Anne! Happy 15, girl!" But she could be awake and peppy in an instant. "You're up already?"

"My family woke me up. They wanted to celebrate it earlier than I did."

"And you wanna hit the town already?" Sid guessed.

"Change of plans." The Latina revealed. "Bobby actually drove Lincoln out here for today." She looked over at the white-haired boy as he caught up and smiled at her. "So him and me are going to go hang out for a while. We'll hang later."

"Oooh." Sid said excitedly. "You get to go out on a date on your birthday? You are so lucky."

"No." Ronnie Anne scoffed. She didn't like that term. Or boyfriend. Her and Lincoln were more than friends, but she was picky like that. "We're just going to hang out."

"You just want to spent the day with a boy instead of your BFF. Gotcha." Sid didn't resent it. She knew how close the two were. "But I want details tonight!"

"If you want me to bore you, fine. But listen. I agreed with my _abuela _she could throw a party when my parents get back later. We'll hang out then." Ronnie Anne told her.

"Sure, sure." Sid was getting her milage out of this teasing. "You and your boyfriend have fun!" Rather then give her the satisfaction, Ronnie Anne hung up with a huff.

"She say something?" Lincoln asked.

"Nope." She lied. "Now come on. I'm getting bored." They headed out.

* * *

Great Lakes City was big and crowded. You didn't have malls or giant grocery stores in the middle of town where everyone did their shopping. A lot of people lived on little shops just like the Casagrande bodega. There were hundreds of little stores like that all over the city that had everything people needed. Sometimes you even had more than one on the same block. The owners were different ethnicities and such, but all were savvy business people and very protective on their stores and stock.

In one of them, generic to outsiders yet distinct to the local residents that frequented it, business was slow. The only person in the building at that moment was the owner/cashier, browsing his phone in boredom behind the counter.

A bell above the door dinged as it opened and someone entered. The clerk turned his head to see who the newcomer was, and his eyes immediately narrowed. Whoever they were, they were wearing a purple hoody with the hood pulled up and pulled over their head where it could hide their face. They looked like a lot of the punks who tried to swipe and steal stuff.

The hooded figure kept their head down as they walked through the store, glancing down all the aisles like they were scoping them for people. The clerk rose from his chair and paced behind the counter, keeping the shifty person in sight as they went down one of the aisles. They stopped near the end and hovered near a shelf. The clerk lost sight of their hands as they put them in front of them.

The storekeeper had seen enough. This person was obviously up to something. His right hand drifted to an aluminum bat he kept behind the counter. "Hey!" He shouted. "I see you back there!" The shifty figure flinched. "Either buy something or beat it!" His hand tightened around the bat handle, just in case they tried to grab something and make a run for it. He'd chased down thieves before and he'd do it again!

Instead, the figure awkwardly shuffled up to the counter. The clerk could now see their face under the hoody. A boy. Couldn't have been older than 16. Looked scared out of his wits too. He set something on the counter, glancing towards the door and keeping part of his hand covering the object. The clerk pulled the object out from under the kid's hands to see what it was.

Condoms.

The clerk 'hmphed' and rung it up. Guess the kid had a reason to be acting shifty. He wasn't going to complain; he'd seen plenty of kids come in here with runts of their own that they didn't watch and just let make a mess everywhere. Kid was young, but at least he was smart. Could always use more like that. "$6.46." He put it in a bag. The kid tossed him a five and two dollar bills and grabbed the bag.

"Keep the change!" And he zipped out the door. Once outside, the hooded teenager rounded the corner and ran down the street, stopping to duck in between the two staircases that led to boarded up apartments. A little alcove that provided a bit of privacy.

"Took you long enough." Ronnie Anne said. "Can I get my hoody back?" Lincoln tossed the bag into her hands. Lincoln was already trying to pull it off. It was just as hard as getting it on had been; his girlfriend's size was obviously smaller than his. She had to grab and help him out. When he finally got it off, he sucked a great mouthful of air into his chest. He'd insisted on a disguise no matter how uncomfortable. Ronnie Anne slipped off his jacket and tossed it back to him.

"The guy at the counter yelled at me." He admitted as he put his jacket back on.

"Well, duh." Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes before putting her hoody back on. "You looked like you were going to steal something."

"I didn't want to be recognized!"

"You don't even live here!"

"I didn't want people staring either." He mumbled in embarrassment. He got a punch in the arm, a little harder than usual. "Ow."

"Toughen up, Lincoln. And lighten up. Seriously, half the stories you tell me about sound way more embarrassing." She opened the bag and glanced in. A flush of color cropped up on her face, and she closed the bag and stuffed it in her hoody pocket.

The contents of that bag was a culmination of over half a year of mutual, and at first hesitant and always awkward, curiosity and discussion. And guilty solo thoughts by each party for at least a year before that.

Lincoln had been raised in a modern and open family, and both of Ronnie Anne's parents were people of medicine and were thus intelligent and imbued with a sense of frankness. Both of their families had talked to them with good intentions about the serious subject of growing older and physically maturing. That was how they'd been able to be honest with themselves and the other when they finally had the courage the talk about it.

They were both teenagers. They had a strong personal and emotional connection with the other, even if they didn't like to label it. And they both had urges. What could happen was obvious. So obvious they'd already been warned about it by each of their parents. But that only meant the two had talked about it with the other cautiously.

But only talked, talked in hypotheticals. They'd planned nothing. They'd agreed on nothing. And even now they still didn't have anything planned for this improvised outing. Ronnie Anne had just pushed Lincoln to buy them just in case. They were going to be on their own for half a day. Anything could happen. Maybe they'd come up again. Maybe they wouldn't.

But anything could happen.

"Come on." They were standing in an awkward silence, but Ronnie Anne got over it first. It was still her birthday, so there damn well were things she was absolutely sure she wanted to do. "There's something you gotta see. Remember I mentioned they were building that two story arcade?" Lincoln perked up.

"They finished it?" He asked.

"Yeah. Well, sort of. First floor is open. They even got a food court. Let's go check it out." She suggested.

"It's your birthday." Lincoln reminded her. "So you get to decide for today."

"I _always _choose what we do when you visit." She reminded him.

"Yeah, I'd just get us lost." Lincoln admitted without shame.

"Cause you're a bumpkin." Ronnie Anne laughed. "Now come on!" She said impatiently, grabbing his hand so they could start running towards their destination.

The bag in her hoody pocket was forgotten for now. But the day was still young.

* * *

It wasn't till the evening that the two returned to the apartment, a little before Ronnie Anne expected her parents to be home, but close enough. No one observed it, but there was something different about them. They'd left arm over shoulder, but returned holding hands. Their smiles were a different kind of content. And both their legs were shaky.

When they got to the apartment door, all was quiet. Ronnie Anne pulled out her phone and texted Sid. "We're back. Ready to party?" She got a response only seconds later.

"Girl, your family's had me here for the last three hours. We are so ready." Sounded like her family had gone all out and thought they could spring a surprise party on her. She smiled to herself.

"Act surprised." She whispered to Lincoln. He nodded.

She opened the door and stepped into the apartment. It was dark and quiet, a state she'd never seen it in. As soon as she flipped on the lights…

"SURPRISE!" Her friends and family sprung out from hiding. All the family that had been here when they left this morning. Lori and Bobby had brought their toddlers over. Sid and her family were there. And so were Nikki and some of Ronnie Anne's other friends from school. Over a dozen people popping out and shouting all at once. There were balloons and other decorations hung up. A couple of boxes of pizza were stacked on the table. Her _abuela _had done just as she suggested.

There was another round of gift giving. More skateboarding stuff or just some money to spend. But it was over quickly. It wasn't a crazy party or even a refined one. It was a bunch of kids hanging around a tv playing video games and eating pizza. But that was her kind of party.

"Hey dude, your fly's undone." Nikki commented to Lincoln at one point. The white-haired teen went red with embarrassment and scurried off to fix it. "Dorks are funny to hang out with, huh?" She nudged Ronnie Anne, and her normally infallible friend actually seemed embarrassed by it.

Ronnie Anne's parents got back separately but within fifteen minutes of each other. They were surprised to see Lincoln there, but not upset. Maria knew he was the only friend her daughter had seriously made in Royal Woods and she could never get in the way of that. Arturo wasn't the stereotype of an overprotective father, but he was more confused about his daughter's white-haired friend more than anything else. He'd seen the way they interacted in public, and he knew his daughter wasn't really that mean. He couldn't comprehend why she put up that front and why Lincoln put up with it, and neither his daughter or wife could provide an answer.

"What did you two do all day?" He asked when he caught Lincoln alone at the table where the pizza boxes were.

"We…uh…hung out." Lincoln answered awkwardly to the perplexed man. While that was going on, Sid had taken the opportunity of the two being separated to question her BFF.

"Sooooo." Sid said expectantly. "What did you two do?"

"Well," Ronnie Anne talked through a mouthful of pizza. "We went to the arcade. Got chased by those cats. Lincoln got his sleeve caught in a door on the subway."

"Boring." Sid declared. "Anything interesting?" Her friend did a telling pause.

"No." She said. Sid grinned and waggled her eyebrows, soliciting a blush out of her friend.

"Come on, just tell me if you guys kissed. I promise I won't tell." She swore.

Both Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were under hard questioning, but they both got a lucky reprieve. Both of Ronnie Anne's parents were home, so the main event could begin.

Rosa finally brought out the cake on a massive tray, big enough that everyone could get a piece. It was chocolate just like she'd asked, and dripping with frosting. Literally so much frosting the bottom of the tray was bending. Some had started to slide and congeal at the edge of the cake. Two candles shaped like a 1 and 5 were already lit.

They all sung her happy birthday, trying to get her to crack a smile the whole time, and she made her wish and blew out the candles to great applause.

"Hey, Ronnie Anne." Lincoln tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head towards him, and then Lincoln grabbed her head and gave it a gentle push right into part of the cake. Not far enough in to ruin the whole thing, but enough that a lot of the heaped-on frosting stuck to the side of her face and her hair. All the adults except Carlota went silent in shock. She was laughing with the rest of the kids.

Ronnie Anne stood back up and turned around to face the boy grinning dorkily at her. She raised her hand, scooped a big glob of frosting off the side of her face, and flung it right back at him. More raucous laughter. The adults made both of them clean up though, tutting at the immaturity. But forget that. If Lori and Bobby still baby talked to each other, Ronnie Anne didn't see a damn reason why Lincoln and her couldn't mess around like they had when they were younger too.

But everyone got over that pretty quick and the cake was served. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne willing ate the smudged part, whereas everyone else got clean pieces. And everyone kept on chilling out. The kids around the tv, and the adults taking time for themselves.

Another hour later, and it was becoming apparent that Lincoln was starting to get tired. To his credit, he was trying to stay awake, but every teen had their limits. He'd gotten up abominably early, traveled three hours to get here, and already spent at least eight hours today expending energy. He didn't acknowledge it, and no one else did either.

But since Lori was there, she was obviously looking out for her little brother. She noticed, and then she decided as one of the adults in the room it was time for the boy to go home. No refusals accepted. Bobby had spent part of the day napping, so he'd drive Lincoln back. She actually started to drag Lincoln downstairs when he wanted to refuse. The best part of Ronnie Anne's day was over. But she would at least go see him off.

It was past six and the sun had already set, making it chilly. But the two took their time on the sidewalk. "Weak." Ronnie Anne jokingly mocked Lincoln when he yawned. He smiled devilishly, and suddenly pulled her into a bear hug. "Hey! Lincoln!" She growled, trying to get free. But he hugged her tighter, and she just stopped and let him squeeze his face against her's.

"Aww, they're just like us." Lori commented to her husband behind them. Ronnie Anne groaned in annoyance.

"Okay, knock it off before I kick you." Lincoln listened to her.

"Happy Birthday." He told her again.

"Yeah, it was a pretty cool one." She admitted. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, the events of the day flashing before them, and turned away awkwardly. "Talk to you tomorrow?" She held out a fist.

"Yeah." Lincoln bumped it. "Maybe I can visit again soon. I don't know how. But I'll think about it." That was Lincoln, always planning. They finally looked at each other again.

"Let me know when you do." Ronnie Anne glanced around to make sure the surroundings were clear before pulling Lincoln into a hug of her own and, angling themselves so Lori didn't catch it, kissed him on the cheek. Without waiting for a response, she spun him around and gave him a small kick in the butt to propel him towards Lori and Bobby's SUV. "Now get out of here before you fall asleep on me."

He glanced back and smiled and waved before climbing into the SUV's passenger seat. Bobby pulled out of the parking spot, and they were out of sight a couple of seconds later.

"Come on, birthday girl." Lori motioned to her. "You still got a few hours left to celebrate." Ronnie Anne shrugged and followed her sister-in-law upstairs. As far as she was concerned,the best part had already happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Her hand steered the mouse towards the user icon and she clicked it, selected 'video call' off from the menu, and then sat back and waited. The program on her laptop showed a little shaking phone icon and made the noise for the immersion. After a moment, the ringing and the icon stopped. After another moment, the video call finally connected and revealed a very familiar person on the other end.

"Hey Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln waved at her.

"Hey Lincoln." She waved back. Normally she was laying down on her stomach on her bed for these conversations. This time, she was sitting up. "How's it going?"

"Great." He answered, but didn't go into detail. "I uh…haven't seen you the last few days." These video calls were a daily occurrence, but they weren't organized. It was just an unspoken agreement between the two to check out this app around the same time every day when the other would be on. Except, for the last four days, Ronnie Anne hadn't been on at any time Lincoln had checked.

"Yeah, sorry." She shrugged. "I had a stomach bug, so my _abuela_ made me stay in bed."

"Oh." He sounded concerned. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm good. So, what's been up on your end?" Lincoln took her explanation at face value, and was excited to share the latest news in Royal Woods.

"Something big happened here in town." Lincoln started ominously.

"What, did they install a new stop sign?" She teased.

"Flip got arrested." He told her.

"No way." Yeah, that had been a lot of kids and teens favorite place to shop, but no one would deny Flip was a sleezy and disgusting guy. "What for?"

"Tax evasion."

"Of course." The Latina chucked.

"It sucks that we can't get Flippies anymore though." Lincoln confessed. "Anyway, Lisa's spending the whole week in Europe for some conference. Lynn won last week's football match for our school again. Oh, and Lucy got a cash prize for one of her poems. What's going on in the city?" He asked.

"Carl got into trouble with health inspectors. Another crazy scheme of his." Her third oldest cousin was always on the lookout for ways to get some extra cash in his pocket. All he usually got was trouble though. One day, he was going to end up in jail for it. "I don't think anything's happened in the city." She hadn't been paying attention the last few days. "Want to hear what Lori's been up too?" Lincoln nodded. Lori gave her family her own line distilled version of about life in the big city. But Ronnie Anne saw more of it. She overheard it when Lori frequently visited. Complaining or talking about things she didn't bother informing her family about. Ronnie Anne had dirt, to be blunt, and Lincoln was not shameless enough to not want to not hear about it.

They talked about serious stuff, but a lot of their calls were like this: benign, casual, gossip, just recollections of their daily lives. Wasn't always exciting, but it was nice to talk to someone else, and to always have that opportunity to discuss something important.

The conversation stopped a few minutes later when they both heard something and Lincoln turned his head. Someone had opened his bedroom door; Ronnie Anne knew that sound even if she couldn't see it. His younger sisters had a tendency to crash their video calls to get help from their brother. Lincoln was the _de facto_ eldest sibling in his family once his three oldest sisters had moved out. Luan still lived there, but when she wasn't at school, she was trying to get an entertainment business off the ground. Lynn was there too, but she was Lynn. Obviously, any of them would've preferred Lincoln.

"Hi Lincy!" A blond four-year-old holding a stuffed rabbit walked into frame. She looked over and noticed the video call. "Hi!" She waved at the screen.

"Hi." Ronnie Anne smirked and waved back. The girl didn't say anything else, she just leaned on the desk and looked around the room and at her brother before looking back at the screen.

"Lily, do you need anything?" Lincoln finally asked.

"No." She turned her head briefly to answer him, then turned back to the screen. That was her thing. The other sisters would inevitably drag Lincoln away to do something, but Lily just liked to be on the calls. She was nosy, as little kids tended to be. "What you doing?" She asked both of them. Lincoln looked put on the spot, but his conversation partner came up with a quick lie.

"Talking about Halloween." Ronnie Anne leaned towards the camera. "Are you excited for Halloween, Lily?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "I'm going to be a tiger!"

"She saw tigers at the zoo and now she won't stop thinking about them." Lincoln explained. "She's been asking since May."

"Oh yeah?" Ronnie Anne asked in amusement. She leaned back. "Sounds like my _primos_." She focused on Lily for another few seconds. "It was nice talking with you again Lincoln, but I'm still pretty tired. I think I'm going to doze off already. I just wanted to check in with you since it's been a few days." He leaned back a little, looking kind of surprised and disappointed. Definitely disappointed. The corners of her lips started to turn upwards.

"Ok then. I'm just glad you're feeling better." Lincoln stayed upbeat about her sudden exit. "Talk again tomorrow?"

"You know it." She stuck her fist out. That was the dumbass little ritual they had for these calls: ending them with an imitation of a fist bump. Lincoln mimicked her, then patted his little sister on the back.

"Say goodbye, Lily." He told her.

"Bye!" Lily smiled and waved into the camera. Ronnie Anne waved back, then she scrolled her mouse to a little red telephone icon at the bottom of the screen. She clicked it, and the video screen turned black, and she saw a blurry version of herself in the little window.

She stared at her reflection, thinking about the person who'd been on the other end. Ronnie Anne Santiago sighed and threw her head back, staring at the ceiling. "Missed your shot." She said out loud. She glanced over to the mini fridge beside her bed, specifically at the three things that were sitting on top of it.

Positive pregnancy tests.

Her birthday had been over six weeks ago; it was almost October. That night had been on her mind for all of them. For the first while, it had only been fond recollection. Neither her nor Lincoln had brought it up on in their daily video calls. They weren't avoiding it,; they were just content and didn't see a reason to bring it up. But after two weeks, she'd been late.

She hadn't panicked. She was too cool for that. They'd used protection and they'd played it safe, so there was no reason to worry. She just figured her mind was making her body act funny by thinking about what had happened. Biology was weird like that. So, she'd stopped thinking about it for a while and went about her days.

Then she was late for one week. That turned into two weeks. And by the third week, she couldn't exactly ignore it. So, she just stubbornly clung to the notion it was something else. Again, they'd used protection. She wasn't going to consider that they might've screwed up when she was so sure they hadn't. She was hardheaded like that.

Yet, she didn't bother consulting her mom or anything anyone else to explain it. She just kept it to herself.

Then, on the most recent Saturday, she'd thrown up at lunch. Her _abuela_ had quickly declared it a stomach bug and advised her to rest. Ronnie Anne had really wanted her to be right. She'd spent the rest of Saturday and up to this morning-Tuesday- staying in bed, trying to act sick like it would help. She even purposely missed her usual video calls with Lincoln and started ignoring Sid's text messages. She played the part like it would make it real.

She'd only gotten the tests today. After throwing up yet again, she'd figured that at least proving it wasn't what she was worried about what would help put her mind at ease. Except they didn't. All they did was prove what she should've always suspected.

She was pregnant.

She still didn't get _how_ though. Everything had seemed to work at the time. A few hours spent surfing the internet had come up with nothing. Protection was only 99% effective, as they said. Maybe Lincoln and her were the unlucky 1%. She couldn't find anything else.

In all honesty, all the revelation did at first was maker her royally pissed off. All that caution and preparation, and it had still gone wrong? Come on!

But that fact was looming over her now. She couldn't ignore it, and she couldn't pretend it was something else. It was there and she had to react. She thought she'd been ready when she'd gotten onto the videocall app right after wrapping up her research. It was a logical first step-telling the only other person involved. But the call had played out like any normal nightly interaction the two had.

She'd been in a kind of shock; every time the thought had crossed her mind to mention it, a lump formed in her throat and the thought just dissolved. She'd just let the conversation play out, and now she regretted not using that chance.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling tired mentally and physically. That was her first opportunity, gone and wasted. What the hell was she going to do?

She wasn't mad at Lincoln or anything like that. They'd taken precautions and she was still sure they hadn't messed that up. And if she was honest, she'd been the bigger pull of the two towards what happened. She didn't regret that either.

But a _baby_? She liked Lincoln, but that was something way more different then the relationship they already had. This would completely change things between them. For years. And that actually scared her most of all. She didn't want that or the risks it brought.

There was always was the _other_ option. Even thinking about it caused a little lurch in her stomach. She reached for her laptop again and changed the page to a search engine. She typed out 'abortion' and hit the search button. She'd spend the next hour searching page after page for information on it. By the end, her stomach was unsettled in a way that had nothing to do with her morning sickness.

There was nothing wrong with it. It was perfectly legal. In this day and age, it was morally acceptable. If she really wanted to, she could do that on her own without anyone knowing. But the thing was, it didn't feel right to her, the idea and the procedure itself. The latter subject made her squirm just thinking about it.

She went back to the first option and realized she didn't want that either for even more reasons. She was 15. Lincoln was still 14! They had school. They lived three hours apart. They couldn't provide. It'd be impossible. She rubbed her eyes even more aggressively and groaned.

The full reality was setting in: She was screwed. They were screwed. She really wanted to share this burden with someone else, but she'd just chickened out of her chance with Lincoln and there was no one else she thought could help.

Telling her family was out of the question. Her mom was a nurse and her father was a doctor. They both knew a lot about this subject. They had both warned her about this subject, painfully warned her even. They'd been open with her because they thought it would dissuade her. She wasn't sure if they'd freak out more about what her and Lincoln did, or that she'd made the exact mistakes they'd warned her about. Either way, she knew they were going to lose it for a good while before they gave her any help. She didn't need that drama.

She actually wished she could've told Bobby. He was a smart man, a caring man, and a great big brother. He'd never had any problem helping her with her antics since they moved here to Great Lakes City. He could keep a secret. But the magnitude of this was a lot greater. Bobby could get emotional, and that's what she was worried about. He had his own life now, and burdening him with her problems would only make her feel guilty.

She loved the rest, but she didn't feel close enough with any of them to share a secret like this.

Screwed, both of them.

"Ronnie Anne?" There was a knock on her door to accompany her grandmother's voice. It startled her so much, she slammed her laptop closed and pushed it under the covers immediately. She'd gone from being paranoid about her body to being paranoid of about her own family. Great. She swiped the pregnancy tests and hid them too.

"Come in!" The door opened, and Rosa appeared balancing three plates with grace unexpected for her age.

"I brought your dinner!" She explained. She'd insisted her granddaughter rest to get better from her 'stomach bug' and had been bringing her food while she did so. It would've been a bad idea to have her sit at the table with her family and get them sick too. If only she had been sick.

"Thanks." Ronnie Anne watched her set them down on the mini-fridge. "You know, I think I'm feeling better enough to go back to school." It was just now occurring to her, but she needed to put on an act if she wasn't going to tell her family. She didn't want them to suspect anything until she had an idea what to do.

"Hmm…" Her grandma said skeptically, holding a hand to her chin. She reached out and felt the teen's forehead and the side of her face. "You haven't been sick all day?" She asked.

"No." She lied.

"Queasy?"

"No." She lied again. She was still queasy. And tired. She could expect a lot of that for the next few months.

"Well…I'll tell your mother when she gets home." Rosa decided. "We'll see what she says." Ronnie Anne could game her mom. That wouldn't be a problem. "Sid will be so happy to see you back at school. She came to the door today and yesterday to ask about you." Her _abuela_ told her.

Maybe ignoring Sid had been an extreme over reaction. The girl did live above her. Ronnie Anne had already gotten back in touch with Lincoln, so Sid was the obvious next choice. She decided to text her after she finished eating, blinking at the 47 unread messages clogging up the screen.

'Hey.' She sent the text. A response came in seconds.

'Hey! You ok girl?' Then, 'I sent you a million messages.'

'_I was sick_'. Ronnie Anne messaged.

'Your grandma told me. Feeling better?'

'Yeah.'.

'Still contagious?' Sid messaged next.

'Nope'. Ronnie Anne hit send and stared expectantly at her screen for a reply.

Not a minute later, there was tapping at her window. She twisted around and saw Sid out there on the fire escape. Ronnie Anne got up and opened it, allowing her friend to swing through and into the room. Sid made a high-pitched sound of excitement and hugged her. Sid may have had other friends, but she only had one best friend.

"Ronnie Anne, girl, your grandma made it sound like you were in here dying." Sid told her as they both sat down on her friend's bed.

"Yeah, she worries too much." The teen was secretly grateful though; the old woman had given her a cover story. "How was your weekend? At the other zoo?" Sid's mom had gone to another zoo a state over to inquire about some baby animals to possibly bring to the Great Lakes City Zoo, and Sid had gone along.

"It was great!" Sid brought pulled out her phone and quickly went to the photos. "Look at this!" He She shoved the phone in Ronnie Anne's face. It was Sid, hugging a baby hippo. "His name's Erwin."

"Aww." Ronnie Anne had never seen an animal so shiny.

"And they had baby lions too!" Ronnie Anne laughed when Sid changed it to a picture of her in a tug of war match with one using her own shirt.

"So, did she get them?" She asked. Sid shook her head.

"The lions are going to other zoos. But we got the hippos!" Sid counted that as a win. "Did you read any of my other texts yet?" Sid changed the subject.

"Eh heh," Ronnie Anne rubbed the back of her head. "I haven't read all of them yet. Something up?"

"Halloween!" Sid explained.

"Halloween?" Her friend parroted, mentioning the holiday for the second time tonight. It wasn't even October yet, not for a few more days.

"I saw stores that already had supplies stocked." Sid laid it out. "We should get started early."

Yeah, they were both 15. But Sid had her little sister trick or treating, and Bobby was going to do the haunted _mercado_ again this year. Both perfectly valid excuses for getting into costumes again and having fun.

But Ronnie Anne couldn't drum up any excitement for the holiday. She had other things on her mind and other things she needed to do now.

"Uh, how about we talk about this at school?" She suggested. Ronnie Anne was glad Sid had come all the way down just to visit, but she hadn't counted on it. "I'm coming back tomorrow. I just need to rest tonight since I'm honestly just still feeling a little down and wanted to check in after ignoring you the last few days." Sid looked let down at being led on then blocked again, but she didn't hold it against her. She still thought her friend had been sick, after all.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning." Sid agreed. Ronnie Anne didn't take any pleasure in disappointing her best friend, but she didn't really have a choice. She got an extra hug before Sid went back up out the window and up the fire escape to her apartment.

Dinner for the rest of the family came and passed. Her mom got home after it, as she often did. She agreed with her daughter about being able to go back to school and promised she'd call the school tomorrow to explain things. She did remark about her still looking a little unwell though. That had to be stress showing. Ronnie Anne promised her mom she'd go to bed early and get a good night sleep to make up for it.

In actuality, Ronnie Anne stayed in her room and started browsing the internet. She wasn't looking up anything specific, she was looking up a lot of information on a variety of subjects related to her predicament. She wasn't trying to make a decision either; she was still sticking stubbornly to telling Lincoln first. She was just gathering information. It was a digital hunt that lasted far into the night.

Morning came, and Ronnie Anne realized something: She didn't want to go to school. It might've had something to do with the two hours of sleep she had. But it was probably the weight she still had on her shoulders. She didn't have the energy for anything else.

So, she didn't go to school. When she exited her apartment, instead of going down to the front steps where Sid would've been waiting for her, she kept going down into the apartment's basement before ducking into the little hangout Sid and her had carved out of an unused section of the level. She slumped in the beanbag chair they had there and pulled her laptop out of her backpack. She continued her research, rubbing her eyes and occasionally shaking her head to stay awake.

The beanbag must've gotten cozy though, because she fell asleep without even realizing it. She woke up later, groggy, stiff, and dehydrated in the same beanbag chair. She cracked her eyes open and saw her laptop precariously balanced on her knees at the edge of the seat.

And someone she didn't immediately recognize hovering right next to her face.

Waking up and seeing someone right next to her face triggered the Latina teenager's fight or flight response, and she ended up half pushing and half punching Sid away. She realized her mistake before her best friend had finished falling. She jumped up, barely saving her laptop from hitting the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Ronnie Anne grabbed her arm and helped Sid stand back up. The blow had stunned her, but caused no outward damage except a little coloring on Sid's cheek.

"Dang, girl. Remind me to stay on your good side." Sid rubbed the spot.

"You're the one that surprised me! Don't get so close to people when they're sleeping…" Ronnie Anne muttered in embarrassment. "What were you doing?" Sid straightened up.

"Looking for you!" She pointed. "You weren't at school today." Her expression changed, looking more concerned and curious. "Were you doing something down here?"

"What?" Ronnie Anne started to sweat. "No." She started backing up and grabbed her laptop, closing it. "I uh…just decided to skip school today." Sid looked skeptical, then she looked anxious.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ronnie Anne knew she sounded sketchy as hell. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uhh…" Sid laughed nervously. "Maybe I just made a mistake when I saw your computer screen. What were you looking at?" What had she been looking at? She couldn't remember the moment she dozed off. But she knew what it had to be related to. If Sid saw it, then she must already suspect. She was embarrassed about making a really awkward mistake, so she was playing stupid.

Ronnie Anne should've used that opportunity. But she was never good at lying. And even if she did, Sid would still know and still be suspicious. And you know what? She was scared of telling her family. She was too nervous to tell Lincoln indirectly. But looking at Sid's concerned face, Ronnie Anne realized she felt no fear for any reason telling her. It wouldn't have helped her situation, but it wouldn't harm her it either. And damnit, she just wanted to complain.

"What do you think you saw?" She asked.

"Uh…" Sid hesitated.

"Just say it." Ronnie Anne told her.

"It looked you were looking…pregnancy facts?" Sid mumbled in embarrassed.

"Yeah, because I am." She admitted. Ronnie Anne surprised herself with how easy that had been.

"You're pregnant?!" Sid shouted, then realized the error of her ways when her friend's eyes widened in horror. She shook her head and leaned in close. "You're pregnant?" She asked again in a whisper.

All Ronnie Anne could do was nod.

"Are you sure?" Sid asked. "How do you know you're not just late?" Her friend reached into her pocket and pulled out the pregnancy tests. She'd never had problems with her family snooping in her room, but she'd been so tense she wasn't going to take chances and took them with her. Sid's eyes widened in shock.

"You actually bought some tests?!" She grabbed one to see. Ronnie Anne cringed a little.

"I didn't." She admitted. "I swiped them from the _mercado_ yesterday when Bobby wasn't looking." She had asked Lincoln to buy something embarrassing and he'd done it. She'd been so ashamed that she'd stolen from her own family. She didn't miss the irony and she felt even worse for doing it.

"You stole?" Sid leaned back in surprise. "Girl, this is so not like you."

"I know!" Ronnie Anne threw her hands out. "I wasn't expecting the stupid things to be right! I swear, I'm going to sneak some money into the register to make up for it. But I got a lot on my plate right now! I'm freaking out!"

"No time to panic." Sid told her. "Focus time, girl." Sid stepped back and gripped her shoulders firmly. "Tell me what happened." She steered her back over into the beanbag chair and stood there expectantly. Ronnie Anne had already admitted it, so what was the point of hiding anything else?

Besides, Sid was her friend. They'd been through thick and thin, incidents and hijinks, and other things only true besties could go through and still come out on good terms. They had talked personal issues before. And after a whole month of stonewalling herself and an all-nighter of research, she was even more tired mentally than she was physically. She had to get this off her chest. She had to rant a little. Besides, Sid had been her partner in crime for a lot their crazy adventures, so maybe she could help plan a solution.

"Alright." Ronnie Anne sighed. "It happened when Lincoln was here for my birthday." She admitted. Sid's eyes lit up and her hands shot up to cover her mouth as she understood all at once. And for a moment, serious Sid disappeared and giddy Sid took her place.

"You guys didn't!" She gasped. "How? Where?"

Sid was actually standing where it had happened; they'd come down here to do it before going back upstairs. A blanket on the floor, an unfolded sleeping bag on top of that, and a pillow for good measure had been good enough. It wasn't what you'd consider a romantic setting, but one or both of them might've been in a rush for things to happen. She didn't intend to let Sid know what she'd done in their hangout though.

"I'm not telling." She shrugged.

"Was it fun?" Sid jumped to her next question. And in spite of everything, -the worry, the indecisiveness, the lack of options, the confusion-currently enveloping her life, Ronnie Anne snorted and crossed her arms. The question allowed her to go back and remember the event in a different light. An amusing and happier light.

"Yeah." She rolled her shoulders, still stiff from falling asleep here and to avoid looking Sid in the eyes as a slight blush crossed her face. "Eventually."

"What happened?"

A first time is meant to be magical? Hell no. That was a fantasy. The first time was clumsy and awkward. It had been her birthday. She wanted special treatment. Not To treat herself for a change. Get 'warmed up' for the main event. And it had taken Lincoln a bit of time and some embarrassing trial and error to make that happen. Enough time that her upper back started to ache from laying there.

But once he got some direction, he wasn't bad. He was definitely trying to make her feel special. And he wasn't complaining about having to wait for the part where he could have fun. She hadn't belittled him. Besides, she'd made her own hiccups during the whole thing.

But that had just made the whole thing better overall. Ronnie Anne found Lincoln's mistakes endearing, and he took satisfaction in the fact she made mistakes in front of him and didn't immediately get angry and defensive about it.

That didn't mean either wasn't embarrassed. There was plenty to remember, and plenty they'd silently agreed to never speak of again. But those memories, good and bad, were theirs and theirs alone.

"I'm not saying that either." She warned her friend, then she got back on topic. "But it happened, okay? And we used protection, so I don't know why I got…" She waved her arms around. "You know." Sid seemed to snap out of gossip mode and back to serious girl mode.

"Does he know?" She asked. Ronnie Anne shook her head.

"No." She sighed, throwing her head back. "I tried." She knew she could've told him yesterday. She should have. But she didn't. She could tonight or even tomorrow, but she didn't think she would. "It feels _weird_ talking about something like that over a video call."

"Have you told anyone at all?" Sid asked. Her friend shook her head again. She was still decided on that.

"No. I can't. My parents will blow up at me. Bobby will probably faint. I just know Lori will tell Lincoln's family if she finds out." She definitely didn't want that. "I have no idea what my _abuelos_ will do." Rosa was kind, but she was also assertive and traditional. Her grandpa wasn't the first, but he fit the second just as much. "I'm screwed if I tell anyone here."

"What about your cousin?" Sid suggested. Ronnie Anne had actually reconsidered Carlota last night. They got along well, but romance was a topic they'd never covered. Ronnie Anne never inquired about her romantic pursuits and, beyond the rest of the family's light teasing, Carlota didn't intrude on hers. It would've felt weird bringing it up. She probably would've helped her, Ronnie Anne admitted, but she just didn't feel like it.

"I don't know Sid. I just think I should tell Lincoln first. In person."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I have no idea." The Latina admitted. She'd been brainstorming that too last night. She couldn't drive. She didn't have any friends that could drive. Family was an obvious no-go. She considered a coach ticket-her and Lincoln had discussed that idea a lot in the past-but that cost more money than she had right now, and it'd be at least three weeks before she had enough. Her mind would probably break before that happened. Hell, she was already a month along at least, a few more weeks and someone else might notice.

And even if she did find a way to go to Royal Woods, that was a six-hour trip there and back, plus the probably hours the two of them would be spend talking. A full day would be needed at least, but she had no idea how to make up a cover story. People would notice her missing. Lincoln's family would probably rat her out if they saw her there. She could try and convince Lincoln to come to Great Lakes City, but he'd have the same issues. And if she heavily insisted on this heavily to him or anyone else, it would look really suspicious.

So really, Ronnie Anne Santiago was up the creek without a paddle. She couldn't do what she wanted to, and trying to get do it would end up badly for her anyway. And she knew she didn't have to tell Lincoln first. Heck, she never would; Sid was now and forever the first person she'd told. But she still felt like he should know before either of their families. It was frustrating and unnecessary, but she felt so strongly compelled to do it. It was a fixation that came before what should've been bigger concerns.

"You have any ideas?" She asked. Sid put a finger to her chin thoughtfully, her expression changing and switching up for a few seconds, then she shrugged and shook her head. "Dangit."

"I don't know what I'm going to do about any of this, Sid. Telling him is all I have right now." She finally admitted. It had only been 24 hours at most, but already this whole ordeal felt like being crushing with no way out. Her best friend squeezed her way onto the beanbag chair beside her, giving her some comforting pats on the back.

"Are you sure you can't do it over a call?" Sid asked seriously.

"I could suck it up and try." Necessity would eventually overcome her anxiety about saying it impersonally, but she didn't want to wait for that to happen either. Ronnie Anne was an action girl; she took her problems head on. She didn't ignore them till they blew up, even if her attempts to fix it blew up for them to force a resolve. "I'll try again tonight." It was a promise to her friend as much as it was her own self. Sid nodded, and then was abnormally quiet for a few moments.

"What are you going to do with it?" She asked more quietly. Ronnie Anne immediately understand understood what she meant and got defensive.

"I don't know yet! I've only known for a day!" A day! She couldn't be expected to plan for something this big in a day. She got more comforting pats on the back. "I don't want things with Lincoln to change. But I don't want to get rid of it either!" Sid was quiet again.

"Okay, I get it. Baby steps." Ronnie Anne shuddered. "Small steps." Sid corrected quickly. "Let's just focus on letting him know, and we can work things out from there. Well…whatever happens from here on out, I got your back." Her best friend offered her full support. "Seriously, if your family wants to give you a hard time, just come up to my apartment and we can hang for a while. It's a pinky promise." She held out the digit in question. Ronnie Anne exhaled a little while the corners of her mouth tipped upwards. 15 years old and they were both still doing pinky promises. Ronnie Anne stuck her own out and completed the pact.

"Thanks, Sid."

"But seriously." Her friend carried on. "If you can't tell him, you need to tell someone else." Ronnie Anne sighed. "I really think your brother would help you. He might even give you a ride."

Bobby really would, after he stopped freaking out about it. She knew he wouldn't tell anyone else, even Lori. But she was still scared of the guilt she'd feel if she put him through that.

Bobby knew she'd always had a soft spot for Lincoln. He'd known before Lincoln had, and he found the whole general idea adorable. But she didn't think that would extend to knowing what her and Lincoln had done together. Still, what choice did she have?

_Telling him over the phone,_ _cobarde_. She told herself. But the other part of her was insistent on telling him directly.

Who the hell was she kidding? She couldn't do this alone. Her and Lincoln wouldn't be able to do it by themselves either. Keeping it or getting rid of it. They'd have to reveal the secret to someone even if they could talk it over before anyone else knew. And if it had to be anyone, she knew her choice would be her own brother.

"I'll need to tell someone in my family anyway." Ronnie Anne explained the conclusion she'd just reached. "I guess it'll have to be Bobby."

"I'm sure it'll turn out fine." Sid stayed reassuring. "Your family is great." Yeah, they could be. They could be forgiving too. But they'd never had a problem this big before, and everyone had their limits. Right now, she still wanted to keep them in the dark about anything being wrong. She still wanted to let Lincoln know first.

"What time is it?" Ronnie Anne suddenly asked, trying to get her phone out of her jeans. If Sid had come looking for her for not being at school, then school had to be over already.

"A little after four." Sid answered just before her friend got her phone out and confirmed it. The other teenager jumped up.

"I need to go home. My _familia's _going to miss me." Ronnie Anne urgently grabbed up her backpack and slipped it on. It was over half an hour since school got out. Her grandma had got antsy if she didn't come home from school before going out to do other things. She definitely didn't need to be interrogated now.

"Hey," Sid stopped her, putting her hands on her shoulders and turning her to face her. "You'll keep me in the loop, right? I'm here for you."

"You're a great friend, Sid." She hugged her. "I'll let you know." She let go and ran upstairs.

"_Mija_!" With only one leg through the door, she already heard her grandma's voice. "Where were you? I was just about to call the _policia_!"

"Sorry!" Ronnie Anne shut the door and started moving down the hallway, trying to avoid letting the old woman get close and corner her. "I got caught up in the subway." She got into her tiny room and quickly closed the door behind her. Safe at last.

It was only just after 4. Her video calls with Lincoln didn't normally happen until at least 5. So, she waited, laying out on her bed, moving her foot back and forth, and thinking with a bottle of water in her hand. She couldn't decide if she felt better or not. On one hand, she'd finally admitted the issue to someone and gotten full unwavering support. On the other, she'd been convinced to spill the news to someone in her family because she knew she wasn't making progress. Yes, it was necessary, but she wasn't going to like it. But maybe it would give her the willpower to admit it to Lincoln.

Impatient, she sat up and fetched her laptop from her bag. She opened the video call program first, but, obviously, he wasn't on. She just kept the tab up and ready and opened another one to do more research. She'd been so tired; she barely remembered the last hour or two of it this morning, so she tried to retrace her steps. She kept glancing at the clock on the bottom of her screen and switching tabs to see if Lincoln had maybe gotten on early. Once the clock hit five, she shut down the other tabs and focused purely on the video call tab.

Yeah, it was obsessive, but she took that as a good sign right now. She thought it meant she could do it. As soon has the icon next to his profile turned green to signal he was on, she clicked 'call'. Then she waited, tapping on the edge of laptop. The noise got deeper and more agitated as the seconds passed by. An annoyed expression appeared on her face and didn't go away until a boy with shaggy white hair appeared on her screen.

"Hey Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln waved at her. "How are you?"

"Good." She stretched her arms behind her head, realizing just then how stiff she'd gotten from sitting there. Did she seize the conversation now? No, that would make it weird. Best they got relaxed and in a good mood. But she was definitely going to do it!

They did their usual back and forth for a while, with Lincoln doing most of the talking. What happened today, what plans for the future, follow ups on things they mentioned before. Almost every word out of her mouth was evasive or vague, but Lincoln never picked up on it. The longer the call went on, the more her stomach started to twist and the more she started to sweat.

She kept her courage and ended up talking.

"Hey Lincoln," Rather than going back to him, she tacked it on to one of her own stories. "Do you remember my birthday?" She blushed, and on the screen, Lincoln started to blush too even while a dorky smile started to spread on his face. She might've smiled about it too, a few days ago.

"Yeah." He rubbed the side of his face. "I remember."

"Me too." She mumbled. She'd intended to use that as a way to lead into things, but she didn't really consider how. "I…uh…" Why the hell was this so hard? If he was right in front of her, she could just shove the tests in his hands and boom.

"You want to do it again?" Lincoln guessed. Her chest lurched, surprised by his answer and the audacity of it. His guess just surprised her. She stared hard into the screen. Lincoln's dorky smile paled into awkward fear and horror as he realized he might've stepped too far. He tried to stutter out a take back, but she started laughing and he realized he was in the clear.

"No, you're right." She managed a genuine smile. "Well, kind of right. I do want to see you." This was nowhere close to how racy these conversations could get, but they were both starting to be blushing idiots. "Seriously. We should hang out in person again. We talked about it before you left, remember?"

"Uh…yeah!" Lincoln remembered. "I'm still trying to think of something. I want to see you again too." Obviously, he didn't have an idea on how to make a face to face meeting happen either. What she should've done then was come clean and admit the real reason she brought it up. But she chickened out.

"Let me know if you do." Yet she didn't. She'd told Sid earlier right to her face, but she couldn't tell Lincoln who was still practically right in front of her.

The conversation drifted back to more mundane things and stayed that way for the rest of the call until Lincoln got pulled away to do something by his parents. With the call over, Ronnie Anne stared at the screen with the exact same feeling of unfulfillment as yesterday.

She did find a bit of amusement in recounting it though. That brief moment of panic on his face had been adorable. Lincoln was still a boy. A very sweet boy, but a boy. She didn't take any offense to it, since she knew he didn't really mean anything by it.

She tried to think of it as a success since she'd let Lincoln know she wanted to see him in person and that maybe he'd figure out a way on his end, but that was stretching it and she knew it deep down. She'd tried, and she'd failed. The hole was still as deep as it had been and she still needed help. If she didn't make any progress soon, she was going to snap. It left only one option.

'I couldn't do it.' She texted Sid.

'Don't be ashamed.' Sid texted back quickly. 'Take things at your own pace.'

'I'll tell Bobby tomorrow.' Ronnie Anne revealed.

'You should'. Sid quickly agreed. 'Trust me Ronnie Anne he's your best bet.'

'I hope so.' She fell back onto her bed.

She had a feeling she wasn't going to sleep well tonight either.


	3. Chapter 3

Like yesterday, Ronnie Anne slipped down to the hangout instead of heading for school. This time, Sid was there waiting for her with a hug, firm hands on her shoulders, and words of encouragement.

"You got this, girl." In the midst of all this, Ronnie Anne couldn't have had a better person to be by her side than the energetic and hyper focused girl.

She waited till past nine, fighting off the urge to nap again all the while, before slinking up to the _Mercado_. She stayed outside in the cold for two whole minutes as she regarded the door. No customers were in. It was the perfect opportunity. She was just getting her nerves ready.

One more sigh and one more attempt to hype herself up, and she opened the door and stepped inside. It dinged to announce her presence. "Hey-" Bobby leaned over the counter, ready to welcome another customer like he always did, but he stopped when he saw it was his sister. "Ronnie Anne?" He looked at her in confusion and then back at the clock he kept mounted high on the wall. "Shouldn't you be at school?" He asked. "Why is your hoody up like that?" He sounded a little concerned.

She walked back around the counter and used her foot to drag over the stool Bobby kept back there to rest his legs on, before sitting down. "Ronnie Anne?" Bobby could definitely tell something was off with his little sister. He knelt down slightly, trying to make eye contact with her, even while she kept her head lowered. "Is everything alright? Should I go get _abuela_?" That made her raise her head.

"No!" Her reply was so sharp, she made him jump. "Actually…I stayed just to talk to you. It's something really important."

"Oh?" Bobby sounded curious, but also understanding. His little sister didn't confide in him or anyone else very often. If she was, it must've been important. "Alright." With a bit of effort, he lowered himself so he was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her. "Tell me what's on your mind.," He offered openly.

Here she was. It wasn't too late to make something up and skirt her way out of this. But then she'd be back to square one. Sid was right: she had to tell someone. And Bobby was still was her best shot. She had to take it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I stole something from the _Mercado_ when I was here the other day." She admitted, the weight of that guilt dropping off her shoulders. Immediately, Bobby's eyes started to widen in alarm. He jumped up and leaned over the counter, eyes scanning the isles. He was so good at his job that he would've been able to spot something missing. In this case, he probably only missed it because it was something he didn't anticipate she'd steal. If he wasn't married to Lori, he was married to his job. He didn't know he was just twisting the knife in his little sister's guilt.

"Okay." His voice shook, but he tried to look understanding when he turned back to her. "It's one thing, it's no big deal. I'm glad you decided to fess up." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Tell you what, just pay for it now-family discount rate-and I'll forget about it. I'll even buy you a cab so you can get to school."

Ronnie Anne was trying really hard not to be visibly annoyed; she knew she had no right to be when he was already being this forgiving. She'd been kind of hoping he'd ask what she stole, to make the admission a little bit easier. But it looked like she had to do things the hard way. She reached into the front of her hoody and pulled out the tests. She held them out and opened her palm.

"It was these." She mumbled, keeping her eyes focused on them instead of her brother's face. His grip on her shoulder tightened for a second, then went limp. The hand started to tremble as he took it off her shoulder and grasped her fingers, lifting her hand up so he could see better.

"Ronnie Anne…" He started to say something, then trailed off like he was uncertain.

"It was my birthday." She explained, and he flinched, letting go of her hand. "I only started to worry when I got sick on Saturday. I didn't want you to know in case it wasn't true. I'm sorry." She looked back up at him. Bobby was still staring at her open palm. Slowly, he stepped back and turned around, arms over his head. Ronnie Anne tucked the tests back in her hoody pocket and stood up. "You're the first person in the family I've told." She confessed.

Something seemed to jolt her brother upright. In an unusually spry display, he vaulted over the counter and made from for the front door. Vito was just about to come in when Bobby stopped him. "Sorry Vito, the Mercado is closed for the next few hours. It's an emergency."

"Closed?" The old man seemed confused. "This place never closes during the day." Bobby took a moment to compose himself, taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves.

"It is today." He declared, locking the door and flipping the sign on the front to 'closed'. By then, his sister had come out from behind the counter.

"What are you doing?"

"I am closing the store." He answered, spinning her around and pushing her towards the back room, which also led to storage and then an area where the business van was parked. "And you are going to see a doctor to make sure you're uh…you know." He couldn't finish that sentence.

"I already took some tests!" She protested. She already knew, damnit! She didn't want to waste time with more stuff.

"Yeah, well…those things can be wrong. They could just be cheap and faulty."

"I got them here." She reminded him, a low blow that she'd just let slip, and Bobby cringed like his pride had been wounded. "Bobby, I know what I'm talking about." She said more gently.

"A second opinion couldn't hurt." He stuck to his guns. Ronnie Anne growled in annoyance, but didn't argue. If it reassured him, that was less guilt on her conscience. Or maybe it would be more? She didn't know. At the very least, she could make her request on the drive there, since he'd stopped her before she got to it.

And who knew? Maybe, just MAYBE, this was still something else entirely that could be passed up off as just an extremely embarrassing memory a few years from now.

No, she didn't really believe that.

The business van was just about the worst vehicle for discretion but, but like her other annoyances and gripes, she kept it to herself. Before they even left the back alley, Bobby was leaning forward over the steering wheel, looking tense. He kept that expression even has they pulled out onto the street. It was an uncomfortable silence; even the radio was off. It wasn't the best atmosphere to make a pitch, but it was probably her best available opportunity now.

That summed up her life situation right now nicely-terrible options all around.

"I'm telling you because I need your help." She admitted, while they were stopped at a stop light.

"Let's just make sure it's true first." Bobby was insistent.

"I'm going to need help if it is true." She was just as insistent.

"And I really don't want to talk about something like this unless I know it's true." Bobby refused.

"C'mon, Bobby!" Ronnie Anne's voice got a little pleading. "I came to you because I trust you." Her brother let out a loud sigh.

"I know. I get it. Just bear with me on this, cause I'm..REALLY uncomfortable right now." He admitted. He was uncomfortable? This wasn't a misery contest, but she was willing to bet she had more baggage right now. But if it meant he wasn't shouting questions at her, she could live with that guilt. "Ok," He tried to compose himself. "I need to know some things first." He demanded. "So," he started, "when did this happen?" He asked.

"My birthday." She told him again. He must've missed it from shock the first time.

"It was you and Lincoln?" He asked after a moment, his tone changing. She couldn't place it, but there was something emotionally charged in his inquiry.

"…YEAH." She answered incredulously. What kind of question was that? Who else would it have possibly been?

"You guys can't do something like that!" Bobby exclaimed. Couldn't? Or shouldn't? They definitely could and they definitely had. Should they have? Ronnie Anne still thought so. But should this had have happened? No, it definitely shouldn't have. She would've stubbornly insisted it couldn't have neither, but that would fly in the face of what they were doing now.

No, she was not going to let that go.

"We did." She said plainly. "And don't pry into it."

"You came to me for help," Bobby started, "so I do need to know."

"You can read between the lines!" She was getting defensive, staring away out the window, as her cheeks started to burn. "I'm not talking about it."

"I'm just confused." Bobby finally admitted. "I didn't know you guys were that close." Ronnie Anne mumbled something. "What?"

"I said it was the start." She spoke a little louder, still staring out the window.

"Whose idea was it?"

"It was on my birthday. Read between the lines." She said again. He groaned and shook his head. Was that disgust or shock he was feeling? Did she try and stand by her decision? Proclaim it a choice she had all the power to make? Claim maturity? It would all sound stupid and she knew it. She tried to steer the conversation back in her direction. "I want to tell Lincoln in person. I need a way to get to Royal Woods."

"You came to me just because you needed a ride?" Bobby was not stupid, and he sounded hurt.

"Not just because I need a ride!" Ronnie Anne told him. "Sid already knows, and she made me realize I had to tell someone. And I told you because you're my brother and I trust you more than anyone else in the family."

"Aww…" He seemed touched for a moment, then shook his head. "Listen _Nini_," He struggled for a minute. "Those things can be wrong. It happened to me and Lori. We got all excited and then we got bad news." He explained, sounding wistful. "So, I'm not going to believe anything until a professional says so. We're going to the same one Lori saw. She's good." Bobby explained. "If she says you are, we'll talk. And if she says you're not…we still need to talk,." He said in a tone that clearly indicated he was not looking forward to a conversation about it.

"Okay." Ronnie Anne agreed with an impatient sigh. "But please keep it a secret. No matter what we find out." Bobby was quiet for a moment.

"I got your back." He said. The same exact same thing Sid had said too. He was making her jump through a few hoops and he was acting really awkward about it, but she felt even more reassured that things weren't that bad.

The place Bobby took her to wasn't very telling. The sign outside only said 'Women's Health Clinic', no specified subject declared. It still didn't stop her from slinking up to the entrance directly behind her brother, with her hoody still up and her head down.

Bobby did not show any of the discomfort he'd had in the car once they walked through the doors. He was pleasant, smiling, and cool with the receptionists. He didn't sound freaked out when he handed Ronnie Anne a clipboard and told her there were parts she had to fill out. It took her a moment to notice; she was scoping out the other people in the waiting room. She was definitely the youngest person there. A few of them were looking their way. Whether it was because Bobby was the only male in the building or because her height made her youth obvious, she didn't know. She kept her face hidden anyway.

And while they sat in the waiting room themselves, she kept her head down even as Bobby flipped through some magazines. They got sent back to one of the patient rooms only about fifteen minutes later, and it was another five before the doctor arrived, an Indian looking woman whose name tag said Vadekar.

"Doctor, good afternoon,." Bobby greeted her. "Thanks for seeing us as walk ins, I know you're very busy."

"Hello Mr. Santiago. How is your wife doing?" She asked in slightly accented English.

"Oh, she's great. Rose and Amanda are getting bigger every day too.," Bobby sounded proud. "But I came in today about my sister, actually." He worked his hands nervously.

"Yes, I have her paperwork." She held up the clipboard with Ronnie Anne's information on it. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, there's this…thing…" Bobby tried to explain it, "And it might be nothing, but we just want to be sure, uh…"

"We're here about these." Ronnie Anne interrupted her brother's ramblings and held up the pregnancy tests. "He doesn't think they're right." Bobby's ramblings got completely incoherent as the woman took them. "I'm a month late." The woman nodded.

"We can do proper tests." She affirmed.

"Please." Both Santiago siblings said with very different tones of voice.

She ended up waiting there for half an hour before doing any tests. Of course, she had to pee in something, and they did a blood test too. At least none of the staff here seemed like they were making any judgments. After that, it was another full hour waiting for the results to be processed. And for all that time and effort, they just had Dr. Vadekar tell them the exact same thing Ronnie Anne had already known: she was pregnant.

Bobby looked crestfallen. Sad and disappointed. Ronnie Anne really hoped it wasn't specifically at her.

The doctor stayed completely factual and professional about the whole thing. She talked about setting up follow up appointments, health specialists, things like that. Ronnie Anne really didn't want to hear about any of it. She didn't want to set anything up yet. She still had something she wanted to do before tackling any of that. Each word the woman said just made her eyebrow twitch.

And Bobby didn't want to hear it either. "Listen, Doctor Vadekar,." Bobby cut her off. "Thanks, but we really need to discuss this at home before deciding on anything else."

"Of course." The woman said, handing all the paperwork over. "You know how to reach us."

"Yeah…" He still seemed down. "Come on, Ronnie Anne." She hopped off the examination table to follow him.

Bobby put on one more brave face to finish up with the receptionists. Ronnie Anne looked away guiltily when the discussion of payment came up and Bobby swiped his own card without hesitation. Then they both slunk out of the building back to the van.

"Okay, so…you're actually…pregnant." Bobby sweated, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah." She'd already known that, but she held in her irritation. She still needed help. She'd gone along with this for her sake, but she still had a goal to get. "Bobby, I'm serious. I need a ride to Royal Woods. Or enough for a bus ticket. I know it's a lot, but I really need it. Please." Her brother didn't answer her. He pulled out his cellphone and selected a contact. "Bobby?" She asked.

"Hey, mom." He held the phone up to his ear. Ronnie Anne's eyes widened in alarm.

"Bobby!" She hissed, grabbing his arm. He used his free one to slap it off. It didn't hurt, but his betrayal did. Bobby carried on with his call.

"Sorry, but you need to come home. It's an emergency." A moment passed. "No, no, the _abuelos_ are fine. It's something else." He didn't say it over the phone, thank God. "Listen, you just need to come home." He insisted. He must've convinced her, because his next and final line was "Alright, see you soon." Next, he called their dad and gave him the same line. She didn't even try to stop him. She crossed her arms and leaned against the window till he was done.

"You're great at keeping secrets…" She muttered.

"Ronnie Anne, I know you," Her brother started. "You like to do things on your own. But trust me, you can't do this. I know. I have two kids. You're going to need help." He stated. "And I'm sorry, but I have my own family now. I can't be the one to do it."

"I wanted to tell Lincoln first!" She shot back. "We could've waited to tell mom and dad till after that!"

"Waiting isn't a good idea." He told her. "And like it or not, mom and dad are your best bet for seeing him." Even if they were, she wasn't going to get anything from them without getting torn into first. She turned away from her brother to stare out the window, ending the conversation there. She watched him regard her in the reflection for a couple of seconds before he started the van and started taking them home.

Ronnie Anne spent the time brainstorming how she was going to get past her parents on this. She'd known from her first suspicions that they'd lose it at even the mere suggestion, and she already decided she wanted them to be among the last to find out. Now they were going to be one of the first. All things considered, getting into this mess was like giving both of her parents a middle finger on each hand, and they were going to react like it too.

If she went into this too headstrong, it was going to backfire badly for her. But at the same time, she didn't think she was going to last long if they wanted to take digs at her for it. Ronnie Anne still had a mission though, and she was going to make that clear.

She'd grown up, fortunately, never having to argue with her parents much. And like most kids, she buckled pretty fast under that kind of pressure. But this might have to be an exception. She was spending less time thinking about arguments and more trying more to psyche herself up.

And while she did that, she didn't miss Bobby glancing her way every time they were stopped behind traffic or at a stoplight. But she was still upset, so she didn't acknowledge him.

They were about halfway home when Bobby's phone on the dash suddenly started ringing, and both siblings jumped a little like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't be. It did a great deal to dampen the animosity in the van. Since her brother was driving, Ronnie Anne grabbed it and checked the screen. "It's Lori." She told him.

"Babe only calls me between classes…" Bobby seemed confused and concerned. Ronnie hit 'accept' and put it on speaker.

"Boo-boo Bear," Lori's voice was full of worry, "I just got a text from the bank. Someone used our account!" Bobby's brow furled, then his eyes widened like dinner plates and he smacked himself in the head. "Bobby?" Lori heard that.

"Uh…don't worry about it, Babe!" He said loudly. "Listen, I'm driving right now. I'll call you back. Love you!" He made a cutting motion to his sister, and Ronnie Anne ended the call before Lori could say anything.

"What was that?" Ronnie Anne asked, feeling a bit of dread bubbling in her stomach.

"Well…" Bobby started. "A couple of months back, someone stole our info and bought a bunch of stuff. To keep it from happening again, we signed up so we get a notice any time more than $50$ gets spent. We discuss everything we're going to buy beforehand to expect them."

"So, Lori is going to know too?! Bobby! I need to be the one to tell Lincoln! Not her!" She was actually starting to panic a little.

"She doesn't know yet. Calm down _nini_. I'll talk to her." Bobby assured her. And there was no weariness in his voice. No stress like every other word today. It was that kind of calm reassurance older siblings could give you. Ronnie Anne fell back dramatically in her seat, hands on her face.

"Ugh." This was not her day. First the doctors, then Bobby called their parents, and now this.

"Ronnie Anne, look." Her brother told her. She cracked her fingers and looked out to see they were pulling into a gas station. Bobby stopped in one of the parking spaces, then picked up his phone again. He hit call and held it to his ear. "Hey, Babe! Sorry, I was driving. Listen, don't worry about the charge. _Nini_ was sick, so I took her to a doctor." He listened to Lori on the other end for a few moments, nodding his head all the while. "She's fine. Sorry for not texting, but we were kind of in a rush."

He was covering for her. She was happy, don't get her wrong; Lori was more likely than anyone to spoil things to Lincoln's family. And ever since she'd moved here, she'd thought of herself as a wise big sister, even when Ronnie Anne made it clear she didn't want one. Lori would be all over her if she found out about this, so Ronnie Anne really was glad. But that didn't mean the veil of secrecy wasn't getting thinner and thinner, and her agitation growing bigger and bigger with it.

Bobby went on with his call, devolving into some baby talk that made his sister roll her eyes and look out the window until he finally did hang up. The man who'd just been talking sweetly to his wife was slumped back in his chair, looking miserable. He'd just deceived the most important person in his life and gone against everything he'd always stood for. Just for her, even though she'd been less then than courteous with him all day. This wasn't even asking for help anymore, she was actively intruding on and screwing with his life.

Bobby looked over and saw the guilt spreading across her face. He straightened himself out and tried not to seem as impacted.

"It's not like it's the first time I've lied to her." He was trying to make both of them feel less guilty. "And I guess this is important enough for a change." But it was still weighing heavily on him, she could tell.

"Bobby." Now she put a hand on his shoulder. "I owe you." He was thinking about her first and foremost, even if she didn't agree with how he was doing it. "I'll make this all up to you, I promise."

"Just be honest with mom and dad, and we'll call it even.," He proposed. She started to sulk again. "Ronnie Anne, they're going to find out eventually. And they're not going to be happy if they find out you hid it from them."

"I know!" She sighed in exasperation. She turned away, looking out the window again. "I just didn't want to start out with everyone getting pissed off at me. You know they're going to be mad."

Yeah, well…" Bobby trailed off. "You messed up. You both messed up. Really bad." He hammered it in. "And how do you think Lincoln's going to feel? He's going to be really scared. I hope you know that." She figured and she wouldn't blame him; under all her frustration, she was scared too. But the point, she thought, was that he wasn't going to get angry with her. And if she was going to admit to being scared to anyone, Lincoln topped the list of her confidants.

"Ronnie Anne…" Bobby asked a piercing question. "What do you want to do with it, exactly?"

"I don't know." She said immediately. "Sid asked me the same thing and I told her I didn't know. I just want to tell Lincoln."

"You want to decide together?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know.." His sister repeated. "I just want to tell Lincoln." Bobby contemplated her words for a moment.

"I understand." He said, and he said no more after that. Part of her wanted to ask what he got; even she didn't understand her reason for insisting on it. But the mood had soured so much, any conversation at this point seemed doomed to turn negative. They rode home in silence, Ronnie Anne seriously trying to decide if the day so far had any point to it or if it had just been a complete waste of time.

When they got back to the apartment, she got out first and hurried ahead. Her intention was to hole up in her room for a little while, keeping psyching herself up, and maybe even get in contact with Sid, even though her BFF would still be at school. She thought she still had time before her parents got there.

But the traffic and public transport must've chosen this one day to not be a pain in the ass, because they'd somehow beaten her and Bobby here. They were both sitting at the dining table when she walked into the apartment, and she stopped short in surprise.

They looked surprised to see her here too, during school hours. Those expressions turned hard and they both rose from their seats. Ronnie Anne's heart lurched forward in her chest. Why did they already look mad? Bobby hadn't told them anything over the phone-she'd been listening. She was put on the spot, and none of her bravado came with her.

It was Bobby that came to her rescue for a second time that day. He'd decided to follow her up instead of going straight back to work. He came in, read the situation, and jumped in. "Mom, dad, hey. Thanks for getting here so fast." From behind, he pushed Ronnie Anne forward so he could get into the apartment. "I know the traffic gets really bad during lunch hour." Then he started pushing her with a little more force towards the hallway. She got the hell out of there, making a beeline for her room. Neither of her _abuelos_ were in the apartment at that moment, fortunately.

She got inside and closed the door behind her. And the first thing she did from there was to stalk forward and angrily slam her palms down on her desk.

"Damn it!" But she knew she didn't have time for an extended venting session. Bobby was probably giving their parents a line, and then they were going to come see her. She tried to get herself psyched back up. She reminded herself of what she felt like she absolutely had to do.

Then she sat down on her bed and waited.

It wasn't long. She heard footsteps, then there was a knock on the door, and her parents entered a few seconds later without her reply. They still looked as displeased as she'd seen them briefly before Bobby interrupted.

"Ronnie Anne!" Her mother's voice was stern. "I got a call from your school today. They said you've skipped school these past two days!" So, they knew she'd skipped; that explained their expressions. They were already displeased with her and they didn't even know the full story.

Well, it was time. She wasn't sure if what her brother did had damned her or helped her, but it was time. This was going to suck.

"Here." She sighed. She hadn't said it out loud to Bobby, and she couldn't make herself say it out loud to her parents either. So, she took out the report from the clinic and handed it to them so they could determine it themselves.

"What's this?" Her father asked. "A bad report card?" He guessed. Both her parents started to read the blood test, and Ronnie Anne cast her eyes towards her feet, so she didn't catch their reactions and instead waited for the sky to fall. She didn't see her mother's face start to pale and the sternness turn into horror; she was a nurse, she wrote and read reports just like this every day and knew how to skim through them while taking down all the important bits. She reached the conclusion while her ex-husband was still methodically reading the middle.

"You're pregnant…" Maria said hoarsely.

"What?" Arturo asked, thinking she'd mumbled. The woman pointed towards a part of the paper. "Estrogen and progesterone. Oh, right. Those are the hormones-" And then he went silent, like something had suddenly hit him. The room was dead silent. Ronnie Anne glanced up, saw both her parents looking at her, and quickly looked away again. Her parents quickly flipped to the urine test and it said the same thing.

Their 15-year-old daughter was pregnant.

"My daughter…_embarazada_?" Arturo asked out loud, stunned. Ronnie Anne sighed.

"Yeah, I am." She admitted, looking up. Her mother was even paler now, a fist held up to her mouth making her seem like she'd lost her voice. Her father was still scanning the paperwork.

"Where did you get these tests?" He demanded.

"I told Bobby before you guys. He took me to a doctor because he thought the pregnancy tests I got from the _mercado_ were wrong. Then he made me tell you."

"And he was right to do so!" Arturo took his son's side immediately. "How long were you hiding this from us?"

"A month." And she could tell that her quick and confident response only did more to upset them.

"Who?" Arturo demanded. Unlike Bobby, Ronnie Anne didn't fault her father for not immediately piecing it together. He was more familiar with the friends she had here in the city. He knew about Lincoln, but he tended to believe his daughter when she acted exasperated at her families teasing during the rare instances Lincoln came up when they were all together. As far as he knew, he was just another one of her regular friends.

"It was Lincoln, wasn't it?" Her mother was not so un-informed. Arturo looked quizzingly at his ex-wife and then his daughter for confirmation.

"It was him." She admitted. Embarrassment started to supplant her honest fear. Ronnie Anne, to be blunt, wanted to cut through the bullshit here and get to the point. She could guess where this interrogation was going, so she decided to cut it off there. She took a deep breath and laid it all out in that same breath. "I wanted to do something on my birthday. It was my idea. We used protection but it didn't work." She stopped and had to take enough breath. "Lincoln doesn't know yet but I want to tell him in person."

"Ronnie Anne!"

"Ronalda!"

Her parents seemed to have gotten hooked on the first two things she said and were scandalized.

"You're…you're 15!" Her mother reminded her. "And he's younger than you!" It wasn't by but a few months, but it still sounded bad when you said it out loud. "Why on Earth would you even think of doing something like that?"

"I didn't think it would be a big deal if we used protection! I didn't know the stupid thing wasn't going to work!"

It got really chaotic after that, with both her parents starting to talk over each other and then getting confused. They never had been good at coordinating.

"Arturo, please." Maria put up a hand to stop her husband while using the other to rub her temple. "Can I speak to our daughter alone for a moment? This is a woman's subject." He couldn't argue with his ex-wife about that. He was a physician, and he did have limited experience with female patients, but he was willing to concede his ex was the better professional on it. And this wasn't a subject he was comfortable with anyway; he'd lectured Ronnie Anne about it, but not to the same scale as her mother.

"I'll go talk to Bobby." He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Now is it was just the teen and her mother. It was better than being grilled by both of her parents, but Ronnie Anne expected that her mother had intense questions ready for her.

Her mother held that pose for several long moments, eyes closed. She either didn't notice or didn't care about her daughter growing increasingly impatient and annoyed. "I am very disappointed in you." She finally said, crossing her arms and opening her eyes to stare intensely at her daughter. Ronnie Anne started to look away just on reflex, but her mother snapped at her. "Look at me, Ronalda!" She stared down her angry mother.

"I know you've always been independent minded. Maybe some of that is my fault.," Her mother started. "And I know how smart you are for your age. Maybe you thought you were mature enough to make that decision." No, she honestly believed she was. "But you're not.," Her mother told her bluntly.

She said nothing, even though the claim irked her.

"You should've known better. Especially after everything me and your father taught you."

"We used protection!" Ronnie Anne didn't want to let that challenge against her intelligence go unanswered. She'd said that three times now, how could they not get it?

"Those don't always work! We told you that."

"Yeah…" She acknowledged, but in a way that unintentionally came off as dismissive. Ronnie Anne thought she was keeping stoic in the face of adversary. Maria thought she wasn't taking it seriously.

"Ronnie Anne, do you even realize the situation you're in?" Her mother asked. "Do you understand the consequences? Or did you forget those too?" Now that was harsh and uncalled for. Ronnie Anne felt that heat build in her chest that she always felt before an angry outburst.

But then it died there. She broke eye contact with her mother. A lump formed in her throat and her chest constricted. Those words had hit something deep. She'd done some research: Costs, statistics, and things like that. Just facts bouncing around her brain now, most of which she wouldn't be able to immediately recall. She actually hadn't thought too deeply into her situation. The brief moments she imagined any future with any other option, it didn't last long because she dismissed it. She'd fixated on one goal and that kept her distracted. She really didn't want to think too deeply on it.

Except the worry that this would irrevocably ruin the connection Lincoln and she had. That kept creeping in, but not with a certain something as a factor. That was what was giving her pause now too.

Ronnie Anne didn't realize it, but she suddenly looked petrified. She'd shown weakness. But only for a second before steeling herself up out of determination. But her mother had seen it. She sighed and sat down on the bed next to her, putting an arm around her daughter, even as she avoided eye contact.

"You told Bobby because you were scared of telling us." She said in a softer tone.

"No," Ronnie Anne refuted. "I wanted to ask him for a ride to Royal Woods so I could tell Lincoln first."

"So, he doesn't know?" Her mother asked. "But you've known for a month?"

"Not exactly a month, okay?" She'd said that earlier, but she'd really just been mixing her facts up in the stress. She was a month along. A month and a half, technically. She'd only really known for three days. Was it really only three days? It felt longer. "I've been late for a month. I took some tests on Tuesday."

"A _month_?" And Ronnie Anne could place how mother's tone perfectly. It was a 'how could you have been that dense' tone. She tried to push past that before she said something she regretted.

"I want to tell him in person. I can't do it over a call!"

"And after that? What was you plan? How long were you going to hide this from us before Bobby made you tell us?" Her mom demanded.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I just wanted to talk to him." She stopped for a second, and then swung her head around to look at her mother. For what the insane thing she was about to request, that was the least courtesy she could give. "Can I just get a ride to Royal Woods. Please?"

Her mother blinked back at her, surprised at her audacity to try and dictate terms, let alone ones so bold.

"Why would I let him near you? Especially now!" Ronnie Anne felt a spike of anxiety in her gut.

"He needs to know." She insisted.

"His parents can tell him when I call them," Her mother told her. "After we finish this conversation." Her stomach seemed to drop entirely. Her mouth and throat went dry. Like her mother, the color started to drain from her face. The new severity on Maria's face receded slightly when she saw such a rapid change in her daughter's outward mood. She sighed again, although it was anyone's guess if it was at herself or Ronnie Anne. "What are you going to say to him?" She teased the prospect now.

"…I don't know." It took the teenager a moment to find her voice. "I just wanted to tell someone who wasn't going to get mad at me."

"And?" Her mother expected a longer answer than that. Ronnie Anne just shrugged. Her mother closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You haven't put anymore thought into this?" She asked. Silence conveyed the teen's answer just as well as actual words. No, she hadn't put anymore thought into it-it terrified her. There was one thing that didn't, and she'd latched onto it. Call it immature or whatever, but it was what it was.

"That's all I got!" She insisted, as her mom's eyes bored into her.

Her mother looked troubled. But she also looked like she was deeply considering something.

"Just wait here, I need to go talk to your father." She stood up and walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind her. That had been unexpected. She wondered what triggered it? In the apartment outside, she had heard the front door open well before her mother's footsteps would've reached it; someone else had just come home.

"You talked to Bobby already?" She heard her mom ask. It must've been her dad. Ronnie Anne stood up and crept over to her door to eavesdrop.

"He insisted on opening the store back up." Her father answered. "But I could tell he was upset. He drove that boy here, so he feels responsible."

"Bobby!" Ronnie Anne facepalmed. Why did he have to be like that?

"His name is Lincoln," Maria reminded her ex-husband. "And Ronnie Anne says she wants to go see him and tell him."

"Surely we should be keeping them away from each other?" He asked incredulously.

"She's insisting on it," Maria answered, "And I think it could be important. Besides, Lincoln's parents should be made aware. I'll try and take her tomorrow. I have more overtime hours than anyone else on the wing, so they shouldn't deny me a day off." Ronnie Anne was stuck between wanting to do a fist pump and cringe. So, she finally had a ride to Royal Woods, but at what cost? And what was she going to say to Lincoln? Tell him the news then add her mom was downstairs talking to his parents and now all 3 of them wanted to kill him?

"I'll tag along." Arturo insisted, and Ronnie Anne really did cringe then. Now she could see her and Lincoln both getting reamed by all four of their parents at once over this. She was so busy imaging that, she missed part of her parents' conversation.

"-not acting out." Her mom was talking now. "She's always had a crush on him." It wasn't a 'crush', she swore!

"I didn't see it." Her father answered.

"She doesn't announce these kinds of things out loud." Maria reminded him. "I'll explain it to you another time, Arturo. I need to call my supervisor. If you want to talk to Ronnie Anne, go ahead." The named teenager got away from her door and moved back over to her bed. Sure enough, her father came in a few seconds later.

He stood up straight and crossed his arms, and she expected a stern lecture. But after a few seconds, her father lost his gusto. He sighed and sat down beside her, same as her mother had. "I do not understand." He was talking to the air in front of him, but his words were clearly aimed at his daughter. "I've seen girls your age in this situation. Even girls younger than you! But they make these mistakes because they have a poor home life. Because they can't get an education! You're a Straight A student. I know things here at home aren't perfect-"

"No, it's fine!" Ronnie Anne quickly interjected. Both of them were tugging at her heartstrings. "It was nothing here. I just liked a boy." She gagged a little admitting it. "I swear, we used protection. I didn't think it wouldn't work. It's 99%! I'm more likely to get hit by a bus."

"Liking boys is fine. That is not." Arturo said firmly, ignoring her last claim. "But really," He didn't sound pleased at all with what he was saying. "We might have agreed to put you on something if you were honest with us." Ronnie Anne visibly shuddered. She could barely talk to Lincoln about this stuff. Her parents? No chance at all.

"Why do you want to talk to him?" Her dad asked next. "I hope you're not going to let this boy decide your life for you." He looked over at her.

"No! I just want to talk." She swore. "Is Bobby really upset?" She changed the subject. Her dad nodded.

"He is trying to hide it, but he is. I hope you did not give him a hard time." He warned.

"No." But her refusal came off as a little meek. She tried to think of something else to say, but her bedroom door opened, and her mom came back in.

"Are you going to call your work?" She addressed Arturo while not looking directly at their daughter.

"I will call them later. They will understand.," He said confidently. Maria said nothing and pulled her phone out of her pocket before dialing a number.

"Hi, Mrs. Loud? It's Maria." She started while her ex-husband and daughter watched her intensely. "Bobby's mother." She nodded and smiled as the woman on the other end talked, although the lingering paleness in her face betrayed her real mood still. "We're good, thank you."

"Listen, I know this is kind of sudden, but is there any chance my husband and me can come by tomorrow? We'd like to talk about something." She nodded at Arturo. "Oh no, no. Lori and Bobby are just fine." She said quickly. Of course, why would Lincoln's mom expect this was about him and her? Ronnie Anne watched and listened as her mom carried on with some small talk. She was starting to feel angrily impatient again. She was at least a month along, maybe it was mood swings. "Is 3 okay?" Another pause, and Ronnie Anne leaned forward. "Ok, thank you for agreeing on such short notice." Maria sounded relieved too.

If there were words after that, Ronnie Anne tuned them out, falling back dramatically on her bed. She wasn't sure what she wanted to feel. Glad? Upset? Eager? Apprehensive? She got what she wanted in the end, but only after jumping through so many hoops. And she'd have to be stuck in a car with her parents for 6 hours. AND her and Lincoln were going to get chewed out together.

But screw it, she'd rather get chewed out with him than without.

"Goodbye." She did pick up that word and sat back up to see her mom putting her phone away.

"Thanks." Ronnie Anne felt obligated to say it, although it sounded out of place with how charged the situation was.

"It isn't going to be for fun." Her mother's response was immediate. "You are both going to answer a lot of questions. But we're done for now."

"That's it?" Arturo asked.

"That's it?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"No, that is not it." Maria said sternly. "We still have a lot to say to you." Ronnie Anne leaned back slightly. "But we need to talk first." She directed that statement at her ex-husband. So, the onslaught wasn't over, her parents just wanted to coordinate their strategies and hit her hard. That was going to be fucking great. But if it meant even a few hours of reprieve, she'd take it. "You can stay here in your room for the rest of the day." Her mother held out her hand. "Phone." She commanded.

Well, this wasn't really unexpected. Ronnie Anne reluctantly took it from her pocket and handed it over. Her mother grabbed her laptop off her desk and held it under her arm. Looks like she wasn't going to have a video call with Lincoln tonight. Even if she was going to see him in person tomorrow, that stung.

"Don't even think of telling anyone else right now." Her mother warned unnecessarily.

"My lips are sealed." She assured, while both her parents stood over her. Before they left her room though, there was a moment where the hardness in their expressions started to falter. She realized neither of them really wanted to do this or put up this act either.

So there Ronnie Anne Santiago was, confined alone in her room. How long had this day already been? She looked over at her clock and discovered it to only be 12:40 in the afternoon. "Dang it." It was going to be a long one. Well, they said she couldn't leave her room. They didn't say Sid couldn't eventually come to hers it using the fire escape. That would be later. With the current chain of events finally ended, she reflected on how this short day had gone.

She'd gotten what she set out for, hadn't she? It had taken more people finding out than she originally planned, but it was people she would've told soon anyway. She'd known the chewing out was an eventuality. At least some of it was out of the way, right? She tried to spin that into a positive too.

But there was were also the bad parts. Bobby was still upset with her; she hadn't anticipated that. She'd have to make amends. And then there was that moment, however brief, when it seemed like her mom wasn't going to let her see Lincoln again. That made her squirm. Of all the things she imagined happening, that hadn't been one of them. She was glad she'd dodged that bullet, even if she still didn't know why her mom had recanted so quickly.

But it hadn't come to that, so she didn't need to think about it. All she had to think about was what she'd say to Lincoln tomorrow. Once she'd done that, the rest of it could be hashed out with her parents. All the things she didn't want to think about yet. She'd handle them after she talked with Lincoln.

She tried to convince herself she really would.


	4. Chapter 4

Ronnie Anne spent the rest of that day trying her hardest not to think too deeply about things. Inevitably, with nothing else to do, she failed. But her thoughts lingered less on the possibilities of motherhood and more on what would happen with Lincoln. Worst case scenario, tomorrow would be the last time they ever saw or talked to each other. When she thought of that, she knew that pain in her gut wasn't from her biggest problem

Sid dropped by after school. She cringed when Ronnie Anne laid out how badly the day had gone, but she tried to stay optimistic for her friend. It distracted her thoughts, but Ronnie Anne was really too tense for a pep talk. Her friend eventually picked up on it and left her to cool down on her own.

Her mom was gone for the rest of the day, probably talking with her dad. If she was, that had to be the most time the two had ever spent together in years. She did make sure before she left, though, that the rest of the family knew Ronnie Anne was grounded, but not why. Carl decided he was going to be super annoying and stood outside the teen's door to loudly speculate what she'd done. Ronnie Anne strongly resisted the urge to go out there, deck him, and then blame it on the hormones. No, she kept her cool, ate dinner without talking to anyone, and went back to her room to fail at blocking off any serious thinking. She thought she'd have trouble falling asleep again, but it was a surprisingly easy task.

Morning brought a mix of anxiety, dread, and morning sickness. This time, her mother joined her while she was huddled over the toilet. Ronnie Anne didn't want the company, but the bathroom door had never had a lock-something that always annoyed her-and she was in no physical or mental shape to argue with her mom. Compared to yesterday, her mother came off this morning as much more concerned, asking her about her symptoms and how she was handling them. The anger and shock had passed, and she was back to being a mother overly concerned about her children's health, even if her voice sounded a little tense. Ronnie Anne did enjoy her mom not being hostile, but she really didn't want to be seen like this and she really didn't want to answer a bunch of awkward questions that threatened to make her seem frail.

Her mother did make use of that time to lay out the plan for the day. They were going to dad's house at 10 and finishing the talk they'd started yesterday. And, unless that dragged out, they'd leave for Royal Woods at noon. If everything went according to plan, they'd be in Royal Woods and she'd be seeing Lincoln in only eight agonizing hours.

As long as she could keep her temper during that talk, she figured she had nothing to worry about.

She was still grounded as far as anyone knew, so no one paid her any mind at the breakfast table, which suited her just fine, since this was a morning she didn't want to talk.

"_Mija_, you should be dressed for school!" Her grandmother eventually noticed she was the only kid at the table still in their pajamas. Since her mom was usually out of the apartment by this point, Rosa was always the one to see the teen off.

"She's sick again." Maria interjected. "I'm taking her to a doctor." She lied.

"Aha!" The old woman pointed her fork in the air. "I thought she got better too quickly. I'll have to whip up some remedies."

"That won't be needed, mom." Maria contested, ignoring how offended the old woman seemed at her dismissal of traditional medicine.

"Lucky…" Ronnie Anne heard Carl mutter down the table and glared at him. She wished she could've gone to school today; it would have been a hell of a lot more fun then what she was actually going to do.

After breakfast, she went back into her room to change, and spotted Sid outside her window on the fire escape, looking out into the city. She went over and opened the window. "Sid!" Her best friend spun around. Ronnie Anne stood back while her friend swung in.

"You don't have to look so glum." Her friend told her. Did she? She wasn't aware, and she didn't really have the energy to try and change it. "You should be excited!"

"I tried." Ronnie Anne bent down and got some clothes from the drawers underneath her bed. "But I still don't know what's going to happen." She made a spinning motion with her hand, and Sid turned around while she changed. "I'm nervous. And even after today, I still have to decide what I'm going to do!"

"You got this!" Sid stayed motivational. "You're tough!" She beat a fist in her palm. Tough wasn't going to get Ronnie Anne out of this though. Or through it. And that was a problem, since being tough was the only fallback she had for any difficulty. "You're still looking forward to it, aren't you?"

Yesterday, she'd been had. Today, she thought she was having doubts. She didn't know how exactly Lincoln was going to react. He always had this endearing kind of childish dopiness around about him, but he was a really pragmatic person at the same time. Always a dork though. She smirked to herself. Ronnie Anne still thought she was going to decide for herself. But was would anything he was going to say affect her decision? How scared was she going to have to make him?

And, above all else, how was this going to affect things between them in the long term?

She had a sudden epiphany right there. There really was no necessary reason for her to tell Lincoln. This could all be handled here in Great Lakes City and he would never know. But then, she' would always know, and she'd always remember every time she saw or talked to him. And she knew it would affect her and how she acted with him.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. There was no way this wasn't going to affect things between them.

_Gah! 99% effective my ass! Bobby should really cancel that supply contract._

"Yeah. He better be glad to see me."

"I'm sure he will. I mean, you don't talk about him that much." Sid commented, which was true. "But if you trusted him enough to…" Sid did a suggestive whistle. "Then he must be a good guy. Did you think of what you're going to say?"

"I'll figure it out when I see him." Ronnie Anne wasn't going to give herself anxiety fretting over a script she'd probably abandon under pressure. "I'm done." She wasn't dressed to impress, since any fashion was the same as far as Lincoln was concerned; just a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. Sid turned around.

"Do you want any help?"

"I got this." It wasn't said with confidence, but it was said with conviction. "You shouldn't miss school."

"What time are you getting back?" Sid asked. Her friend had to mull on over the answer for a second.

"Late." Was all she could answer. They'd get there at three, and it'd take three hours to get back, so six in the evening was the absolute earliest. But they'd probably be there for an hour at least. Sid promised to be at her window to check on her later, and urged her to call if her parents gave her phone back. Ronnie Anne didn't think they would, but she promised to. Her friend was so insistent on staying and giving motivational advice, Ronnie Anne had to practically push her butt back out the window so her friend wouldn't miss her train.

Her cousins went to school. Her aunt and uncle went to work. Her _abuelo_ fell asleep in the his chair minutes after breakfast was over. Even Rosa left to do some business with Mr. Scully. All Ronnie Anne could do was sit in her room and wait. And wait. And wait. It was excruciating, but, at the same time, every bit moment less of time there was lost here wasn't one until they left that felt like a march to something horrible.

Close to ten, her mom knocked on her door and asked if she was ready. Ronnie Anne had been lying on her bed at that moment and she jumped up. "Yeah." She grabbed one of her hoodies off the wall and opened the door.

"We're going from your father's straight to Royal Woods, so bring anything you might need." Her mom warned when she opened the door before turning back for her room. The teen stopped to think. She'd already tucked the tests in her pocket ages ago. Was there anything else she needed to grab or do while she was here? Then it hit her.

"Hey mom." She called down the hallway, and the woman paused in her doorway. "Can I go talk to Bobby before we leave?" She asked. "I heard dad say he was upset yesterday." Her mom nodded.

"I'll wait in the car." And while her mother went to grab her things, Ronnie Anne exited the apartment and headed downstairs to the Mercado. She unconsciously threw her hood up on her way out the door. There were a few customers already there when she stepped inside-apartment tenants or people grabbing a last bite or drink before getting to work. Bobby didn't even look over the counter to see a potential new customer arriving. When she got to the counter, her older brother was slumped behind it, elbow on the counter and the side of his head resting in his hand. He straightened up when he saw it was her.

"Hey _Nini_." He tried to smile.

"Hey…" She said. Neither said nothing anything for a moment. Ronnie Anne went around to the back of the counter. "Thanks, about yesterday. Mom and dad are taking me to Royal Woods later." She said quietly.

"Yeah, they told me." He put a hand on her shoulder. "See? Thanks for holding up your end of the deal." His little sister blew her cheeks out in annoyance.

"I was an idiot." She admitted.

"Nah." Bobby waved her statement away.

"Just shut up and listen." She insisted abrasively. Bobby took no offense. "I appreciate that you took time to help me. I know you have your own life now." Yeah, it'd been a few years since Bobby actually moved out, but it didn't really feel that long. "I'm sorry I messed it up."

"You didn't." Bobby insisted.

"Just please let me deal with this. It's my life, my problem, something that only I'm responsible for." Bobby smiled, but and shook his head.

"It isn't that simple. You gotta know that." A customer had come up to the counter, so Bobby rung them up while continuing the conversation in Spanish for discretion. _"The whole family is going to be in on this."_ Ronnie Anne shuddered. _"I already told you, you can't do this on your own."_

_"Mom and Dad have it covered."_ The customer took his items and left, so she switched back to English. "I don't need that much help."

"No, you will." Bobby didn't entertain a second's doubt. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm the first one you told."

_"Dios Mio."_ She muttered. This might be the one instance she didn't want an aggressively helpful older sibling. "Okay, just do one thing for me?" She noticed a customer coming up to the counter, and she didn't want to keep her mom waiting forever, so she pulled Bobby away so they could finish their hushed conversation. "This is my fault." She pointed at herself. "All mine. Don't take the blame for me. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just don't." Her tone got more commanding at the end.

"You don't have to be scared of your own family." To her, Bobby's words came out of no where.

"I'm not scared!" She forgot to use a hushed voice for a moment. "This is personal." She muttered.

"Still too big a deal, _Nini_." He told her. "Listen, you just do what you need to do today, and we'll talk about it later, okay? I have to get back to work." He was intentionally turning her words against her, she was sure.

"Fine." She gave him a one armed hug. "Thanks again." She leaned against him, and he gave her a reaffirming pat on the shoulder.

"Tell Lincoln I said hi." Were the words Bobby left her with. They sounded so genuine; she wasn't sure what to make of them.

Back outside, Ronnie Anne slunk down the street with her head bowed, looking for her mom's car. Ever since they'd moved here, Maria didn't use her car much. The public transport system in the city was pretty good and cheap enough that she saved more money paying for parking and rarely using it. Ronnie Anne found it parked just a little way down the street from the apartment and climbed into the passenger seat, buckling herself in without a word to her mother.

"He wouldn't talk to me about it." Maria mentioned. "You better not have snapped at him for making you tell us." She warned.

"No. I was mad, but I didn't snap at him."

"He took time off his job-that he needs to provide for his family-" Her mother added to make her daughter sulk, "-to help you with your own mistake." Ronnie Anne grimaced. "The only thing you should be is grateful."

"I am!" She insisted. Her mother sighed.

"Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah." She nodded. Her mom nodded back in acknowledgment and started the car.

"We're going to have a long discussion." As they pulled into traffic, her mother laid out their plan for the day again. "We'll get something to eat together, and then we'll leave. You'll get to see Lincoln, but don't think for a second it will be alone."

"I just want to talk to him, Mom." She kept her tone respectful. Was them trying to keep them apart going to be a big thing now? It was a moot point, wasn't it? "About something private."

"About something you two shouldn't be talking about." Her mother challenged. Ronnie Anne kept her mouth shut, even though she really wanted to argue. Maria sighed, and she sounded a lot wearier as she went on. "We'll talk about it more when we get to Arturo's." They had merciful silence to keep things from getting even more tense. Ronnie Anne tried to fight off concerns and pre-emptive separation anxiety. She had no idea what her mom was thinking.

When Dad had moved in to Great Lakes City for good, Ronnie Anne loved coming here with Bobby to spend the night with their dad. After Bobby and Lori had gotten their own place, she'd kept doing it alone. It wasn't the same, but she still enjoyed coming here. Not today though.

He answered the door already dressed and holding a bottle of water. The words he exchanged with Maria were short and functional. He greeted his daughter much more warmly, with a hug, making up for yesterday just as his ex had that this morning.

But it wasn't going to last. Her mom had brought her here for a reason. And, just a few minutes later, Ronnie Anne was seated on the couch in her dad's small living room, both her parents standing above her. They were picking up where they left off yesterday.

"What happened on your birthday?" Her mother started.

"We went around the city and hung out." That was 100% true.

"And?" But, obviously, that wasn't the part they wanted to hear about.

"And…" Ronnie Anne sighed and broke eye contact. "We went down to mine and Sid's hangout before coming back to the apartment." They'd been heading back here, just down the street actually. She had, casually, suggested going downstairs before going back to the apartment. Nothing had been decided at that moment, but it was the start.

"The basement?!" Her mother's voice rose a few pitches.

"Our hangout in the basement." She looked back up. Sid and her had transformed that place. It looked pretty cool nowadays, not dark and dingy like they were probably thinking. While her mother accepted that information, her father took over the interrogation.

"Whose idea was it? Did you feel pressured at all?" Ronnie Anne ducked her head again, partially out of embarrassment, and partially to hide an inappropriate snicker. Lincoln wasn't a complete doormat, but he wasn't that kind of assertive. He hadn't brought it up the whole day. By how quickly he went with it after she did, it was obvious he was hoping she would. But he waited on her, and she appreciated it.

But she realized she had to answer those questions, and the good feelings faded. "It was all my idea."

"All yours? Are you absolutely sure?" Her dad pressed. She actually had to stop and think about her next words carefully. That evening specifically was her idea, but the two of them had been discussing it for a while by then, mutually. If she told them that, then she realized her chances at getting her computer back and the daily video calls with Lincoln were slim to none. But, making this all out to be her doing would just make her sound promiscuous, which might be worse.

"It was my birthday. I did it." She hadn't placed any blame yet and she wasn't going to start now. She'd told Lincoln to buy the condoms. She'd been the one to suggest they go somewhere alone. She'd been the one giving him orders… She laid those first two out to her parents, but kept the last one to herself.

"And did you use them properly?" Arturo asked without flinching.

"It LOOKED right." She mumbled in embarrassment. She hadn't exactly been staring. "Nothing felt wrong…"

"And how would you know that?" Maria crossed her arms. "How long have you been doing this?" So, they did think she was promiscuous. Or could be.

"It was the first time!" Ronnie Anne raised her own voice. "I'm not a slut!" Her outburst took them aback.

"We never said that." Arturo put his hands up. _Calmate_." He urged her. "But he is the only boy you've eh…'been with'?"

"One and only." The teen answered through slightly gritted teeth. "One time." Her mother closed her eyes for a moment.

"What about those video calls?" She interrogated. "Have you been doing anything during those? I know you do them every day."

_Mierda_. She groaned internally. "No, I swear." She answered honestly. Some people were comfortable enough in front of computers to do stuff like that. Not them. "We…talked about stuff…like that. If we ever saw each other." She mumbled.

"You planned this?" Her mother asked.

"No. I had no idea Bobby was going to bring him here on my birthday. He was here, we already agreed, so…" She trailed off as her mother made another sigh.

"You are both too young to even be talking about this stuff!" She scolded. "How long were you and Lincoln doing this?"

"Yes." Arturo was nodding. "Let's talk about him now." This was dangerous ground, she had to tread carefully. What they could do still worried her.

"A few months." She answered her mom, then she got a little bold. "I hit puberty a long time ago." Ronnie Anne felt she was owed some degree of maturity. Being open minded medical professionals, she didn't expect her parents to hold any delusions about her being a little girl, but she felt like establishing it anyway. Her parents picked up on it, but they weren't impressed.

"Yes, well, this goes beyond healthy behavior." Her dad coughed.

"There's a line, Ronnie Anne." Her mother told her. "You did the only thing that wasn't okay." Would they really be this upset if the protection had worked? She really wanted to throw it out there, but she realized it wasn't as powerful a weapon as she needed. So, she let them continue to grill her. They wanted to know why it was Lincoln, and she had to struggle to explain.

Lincoln had been the first real friend she had in Royal Woods, when her reputation kept her otherwise lonely. There was just something about him that drew her in. There were plenty of dorks at that school, and ones that were cuter than Lincoln. But he radiated a kind of kindness and confidence that just reeled her in.

And it embarrassed her all to hell to admit this, but back when she was 11 and more innocent, she had entertained the idea of him as a boyfriend. But the teasing of their peers had seen those ambitions go up in smoke, and they settled on the best friends thing. But they still talked all the time and they hung out. Again, the only real friend she had in Royal Woods.

Then after she moved, they kept in contact. Ronnie Anne made plenty of new friends, and there were other boys around, but she never stopped talking to Lincoln. And she never felt a connection to another boy (hell, even a girl) as strong as the familiarity she'd gotten with Lincoln. For whatever reason, they still did the 'not boyfriend and girlfriend' thing even if it was obvious to even them they were more than just friends now. The long distance didn't help. But it kind of became this unspoken agreement between them they had something special going on, something they considered unique to them that was like boyfriend and girlfriend in all but name.

She tried to explain that mainly to her dad, and didn't do that good a job at it. Her mom pitched in when necessary. Her dad was clearly trying to understand, but not getting it. He kept gravitating towards things like 'love' or 'dating', which she stubbornly refuted.

"You are not intimate with someone unless you feel a close bond to them." Was a point her father eventually got to. "Some girls are like that, but I know you aren't, _mi vida. _You have strong feelings for this boy, I understand that. But are they strong enough for this? For 18 years or more?"

_18 years. _That made her shudder. That was a terrifying number. That was longer than she'd been alive. She couldn't imagine a time frame that long. So she didn't answer.

"And can you be sure his feelings are as strong as yours? You seem certain he will console you. But can you really be certain?" He pressed. Oh, Ronnie Anne was sure. Lincoln had a damn complex for helping people. He'd try to help her, even if he was freaking out himself. But this was a big problem, and she wondered if Lincoln was really as capable as she made him out to be.

"What do you think he's going to do when he finds out about this? Ronnie Anne?" Her mother wasn't going to let her use that as an excuse not carry on the conversation.

"I don't know." She gasped out. Her stomach and chest were tingling, and she really wasn't sure if she was about to throw up or not. She kept her mouth shut and tried to force it back down.

"You're going to have to consider that. You have three options to deal with this." Her mother told her. And she could immediately deduce what they were: keep the baby (which may or may not involve Lincoln), 'get rid' of it, or have it and then put it up for adoption. "We're not going to force you to pick one." She went on, and her father nodded in agreement. "You're the only one who can decide. You did this. You will have to choose for yourself. But you need to realize that what you do won't just affect you." Bobby's words to her earlier that morning popped back into her head.

She could've used this opportunity to tell them that she had already chosen to exclude one of those options, at least right now. But she was still afraid of throwing up all over her dad's floor if she opened her mouth.

"We don't want you to choose right now." Her father told her, and now both her parents were moving to sit on either side of her on the couch. "We just want you to understand it's something you have to do." They put a hand on each of her shoulders. She nodded to show she did.

"We're telling you what we have to." Maria told her. "And we're asking you what we need to know. We're not trying to be against you on this."

"We are upset, of course." Arturo reinforced that. "But we know that the best thing we can do for you right now is talk about it and not be too over controlling."

"Within reason." His ex interjected.

"Right, within reason. We want you to trust us and be honest with us." Their daughter finally managed to swallow the bile eroding the lower part of the throat. "What we want right now is for you to just talk to us and tell us how you feel. If there's anything you need to know to help you decide."

"Can I swear?" She asked.

"Well…" Arturo glanced at Maria, who offered no resistance. "Just for this conversation."

"I'm fucking terrified." She admitted.

"We'd be more worried if you weren't." Was her mother's input.

"I don't want my life to change. I don't want things with Lincoln to change. And every time I think about, I start to panic and can't think." She was spilling her guts. "I know it's a big deal, but thinking about it freaks me out." Her mother's hand stretched over to her other shoulder and pulled her over for a hug. No words, just a gesture of comfort to for her distressed child.

"We're here to help however we can." Her dad assured. "That's why we're making this drive." They transitioned to what Ronnie Anne hoped was the last part of this talk. "I guess I'll understand if you don't want to answer, but can you at least try to explain a little better why you want to see this boy so badly before you think about this?" Ronnie Anne sat back up. She knew, deep down, part of the reason was just to be a distraction. But the ice had been broken earlier in the conversation, so she tried.

"He's an easy person to talk to."

"He gives you advice." Her mom stated.

"Yeah." Ronnie Anne thought she knew where this was going. "But I'm going to decide this myself."

"But you're going to consider what he says when you decide. I know you will." Her mother stared her down. "You need to decide based on what is best for you, not what makes other people happy." Ronnie Anne did made a small nod. "Even if..." Her mother stopped, seemingly considered the words she was about to say, then shook his her head. "I'll save it for later."

"Is there anything else? Anything at all, we're here for you." Her father encouraged her to keep speaking her mind. It was a good opportunity again to tell them she'd partially made her decision. It was an opportunity she decided not to take. And yeah, she did have a lot of questions or thoughts she wanted to run by them. But not now. She was sticking to the plan.

"Maybe tomorrow." She answered, which was a more polite way to say, 'after the visit'. She wondered if there was anything else they were going to insist on knowing, or if she'd given enough to satisfy them. Apparently so, because they decided to shift the conversation, however awkward, to lunch. That was it. The outrage and grilling was were over. Part of Ronnie Anne realized it wasn't as bad as she'd played it up in her mind, but it was still an experience she'd rather have not had. But, it was over. Lunch and the car ride weren't significant. The next thing that was going to happen was she was going to see Lincoln.

The fact it was the first lunch she'd had with her parents together in literal years flew over her head. The trip that followed had to have been the longest and most awkward car ride of her entire life. Misery loves company though, and she imagined her parents were just as uncomfortable being together this long either. Of course, Ronnie Anne was the reason for that... Still, quiet nothingness wasn't as stressful as any conversation would be. But about halfway to Royal Woods, while they were at a rest stop, her mother pulled her away briefly, towards the picnic area, for a one-on-one conversation. She made it clear she didn't have to answer, but she did want her to listen.

"I know I'm coming across as short with you." Even now, her mother's tone was tense. "Before we moved here, I was always worried about what would happen when you got older. I would still be working long hours and Bobby would be gone by then, so you'd be alone so much. I thought I didn't have to worry after we moved here."

"C'mon Mom, I wasn't that bad of a kid." She'd had some disciplinary issues in elementary school, but that was it. Did her mom really think she was going to end up as some kind of delinquent? Especially in a town as dull as Royal Woods?

"I'm a mom. I'm supposed to worry. And seeing something come true after I thought I didn't have to worry about it is just a really bad shock." Ronnie Anne thought that would be the worst guilt trip of this conversation, but she was wrong. "And you not wanting to talk to us first hurts." That was enough to make her daughter flinch. "I can't promise I'm not going to get an attitude, but I want you to understand no matter how I sound-"

"I get it, mom." Ronnie Anne swore. Her mom didn't even have to finish for her to understand. "I know you guys are there. And I'm sorry I didn't want to come to you first. It's a really hard time for me."

"I know. I'm not going to judge you for how you handled finding out. I just want to see you be smart and mature about this going forward. For once, you need to be." She should've taken offence at that, but she didn't.

"I will." And feeling the conversation was at it's end, Ronnie Anne stood up. Her mom stood up too, and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"You're going to need to decide to do what's best for your life." She restated what she'd said had earlier. "I know Lincoln was the first real friend you had in Royal Woods. But your whole life is in front you to meet new people. And sometimes, you lose connection with the people you're closest to with." Ronnie Anne, unnecessarily forcefully, shook her arm out of her mother's grasp. She said nothing, and spun around and started walking back to the car where her dad was. She only barely made it though; a few times, she was almost certain she was going to have to run for the bathroom and puke.

Over an hour later, the three of them arrived in Royal Woods, and Ronnie Anne spent her time looking out the window thinking how nothing had changed. It'd only been a few years since she moved, and those minus one since she visited, but she'd grown used to the city, where things changed in months or evens weeks to look completely different. But this place might as well have been in stasis. Her parents had changed at the town limits, so her mom was driving and since she knew the streets. She knew where the Loud family lived.

"We're a little early." Her mother commented before they even got there. It's was just around 2:50. Royal Woods High would only be dismissing the students in 20 minutes, and then they'd have to get home.

"Should we wait?" Arturo asked.

"No." Maria shot him down. "We can talk about other things. I don't want this visit to only be bad news."

"Can I talk to Lincoln alone?" Ronnie Anne asked from the back seat. Her mom had never given her an answer on that, and she guessed they'd forgotten to bring it up earlier. By the way she watched her parents' faces in the rearview mirror, it wasn't an idea they really liked.

"Fine." Her mother relented. "But we're going to explain it to his mom. And then both of you are going to come downstairs together to talk."

"Thank you." She didn't begrudge those arrangements. She didn't want to tell anyone what she was, let alone the mother of the boy who'd made her that way.

A few more streets and a few more turns, and then they arrived. That giant tree was still there and there were still toys littered around the yard and the roof. Lincoln talked about how things at the house had changed a lot, but to her, it didn't look very different from when she'd passed by here when she was still eleven. She was last out of the car after her parents, having no reason to rush. It was second nature to her now to flip her hoody up whenever she was out in the open, and she walked up to the porch behind her dad where she'd be the most hidden. Her mom knocked on the door, while Ronnie Anne look around to see if anyone was out. At this time of day, there was no one.

The door opened and Rita Loud appeared. She'd never say this out loud, and worrying about hurting Lincoln's feelings, but Ronnie Anne wondered how the hell a woman could have 11 kids and still look as good as she did, inexplicably blond and pretty. "Hi!" She greeted the two other adults, shaking both their hands.

"Hello, Rita." Maybe it was the long hours she usually worked, but Ronnie Anne didn't think her mom could match the same tone as the other woman even if she tried, but she could still do friendly. "Our daughter came along with us." The Loud matriarch leaned forward to catch sight of the teen behind her dad.

"Hey." Ronnie Anne raised a hand.

"Hi. Lincoln isn't home from school yet, but he'll be here soon." And that was it. She didn't pick up anything odd about the girl's behavior or even that she should've been in school too. By Lincoln's own accounts, his parents only noticed the most obvious of disasters. It wasn't in a way to make them sound incompetent, but with so much to look out for in a household as big as theirs, his parents were very 'hands off' as Lincoln described it. From how much him and his sisters could get away with, Ronnie Anne thought hands off was an understatement.

She wondered if this whole fiasco would make things change for all of Lincoln's siblings, cause this sure as hell was grades above any disaster they'd brought made.

She invited the three of them in, and they quickly noticed there was one other person in the house at this hour. From the stairs, Lily looked down at them curiously, recognizing only Ronnie Anne. "Hi!" She waved at her.

"Hey, Lily." Ronnie Anne waved back, a small smirk on her face for, if nothing else, the endearing energy the little girl always gave off.

"She's the girl on Lincoln's computer." Lily told her mom, making Ronnie Anne blush a little, even though she was sure that was common knowledge.

"Really?" Rita humored her with a smile.

"Yeah!" Lily nodded. "Lincoln's not here." She turned back to Ronnie Anne.

"She knows." Rita told her youngest. "Everyone will be home soon. Is upstairs clean?." Lily paused for a moment, then turned and hurried to the second floor.

"She's adorable." Maria was polite.

"She's a handful." Rita smiled. She invited them to sit on the couch and asked if they wanted anything. But Ronnie Anne had started to tune out the moment she sat down on the couch. Even while her mom and dad talked with Lincoln's mom about Lori, Bobby, and their kids, she kept her head turned to the side. She wasn't sure for how long, but when the door knob start to turn, she almost hopped out of her seat. Even her parents stopped and turned towards the door.

It wasn't Lincoln. It was some of his younger sisters: Lola, Lana, and Lucy. They didn't even notice there were guests in the house. The twins were arguing about something, being loud and in each other's' faces.

"Girls! We have company!" Rita raised her voice enough to be heard, but somehow without losing its pleasant tone. The arguing sisters stopped, smiled in embarrassment, and gave a polite hello before they went upstairs to continue their verbal scuffle. In those couple of seconds, Lucy had mysteriously vanished from the living room too, even though Ronnie Anne swore she'd been looking at her the whole time. None of them had any interest in her being here, which was fine by her.

She did try and pay attention to what the adults were discussing, but she just couldn't manage. She was tuned in long enough to realize that even her parents' façade was starting to crack, and they were having trouble maintaining the conversation. If Lincoln's mom noticed, she probably assumed there was a reason and didn't bring it up.

The front door opened again, and this time it was Lincoln that stepped in. All by himself too. He stopped in the doorway and let the cold waft in, surprised to see Ronnie Anne and her parents in his living room. Before anyone could say anything, Ronnie Anne jumped up and ran over to him. "C'mon." She said under her breath, grabbing his arm and pulling him in and upstairs. She'd been here before, and she knew the layout.

She dragged him into the upstairs hallway, ignoring his sisters as they stopped whatever they were doing to look at them. The door to his room was open, so she pushed him in and closed the it when she followed him in. They were by themselves now.

Lincoln set his backpack down and turned around, looking very confused. Ronnie Anne was leaning against his door, arms stretched like she was trying to barricade it against anything outside. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were boring into him with an unsettling intensity under her hood. Lincoln knew something was up, but he didn't know what.

"When did you-" She lunged forward and hugged him, squeezing tightly. REALLY tightly. Lincoln took it like a man, even as he felt all the air leave his body.

"Hug me back, Lame-O." She instructed him. He had the upper part of his arms pinned, but he could still bend his elbows enough to rest his hands in the small of her back.

The strength of her hug started to ease, but she was still keeping him in a firm embrace. Her grip eased even more as she let about a long, shuddering breath, and Lincoln finally felt like he could breath again. He inhaled a great breath of air, and she finally let go and stepped back, reaching up to pull her hoody off.

"When did you get here?" He asked the question he'd been cut off on earlier.

"Like ten minutes ago. My parents brought me." She spoke fast and breathlessly.

"Oh, that was nice of them." He commented, still concerned but not grasping the gravity of the situation. He opened his mouth again, but she cut him off.

"They brought me to see _you_. I needed to talk to you. And they need to talk to both of us. We got a problem." Ronnie Anne threw her hands out.

"Okay…what's the problem?" Lincoln asked. Ronnie Anne shoved her hand down her pocket and grabbed the tests. When she lifted them out, she cocked her arm back like she was going to hurl them at his face. Lincoln even tensed and acted like he was going to try and catch whatever she knew. But she resisted the habit and lowered her arm.

"Just look." She leaned forward to yank his arm up and forcefully palmed them into his hand. Lincoln looked back up at her face for a second then looked town at the tests. She watched him flip them over in his hand, waiting for him to realize and react. It took only about 10 seconds. Lincoln flinched and sucked in a lot of air that got hitched in his throat. Then he made a little high-pitched noise and flailed his arm, dropping them to the floor. He stumbled back a step and hit the wall; he didn't have a lot of room to react in here. And when he finally looked back up at Ronnie Anne, his face was already starting to lose color.

"You're pregnant?!"

"Yeah, for over a month now." She confirmed. "I just found out, and I had to come tell you."

Lincoln was still backed against his wall; his chest started to rise and fall faster and faster and his eyes seemed to go unfocused. The shock was still settling. She knew how that had felt-pacing around her room, tightness in the chest, all that. She waited for him to get a hold of himself.

With a shake of his head, he brought himself back to reality and to her. "We used protection." He sounded confused and disbelieving.

"Yeah." Ronnie Anne shrugged.

"Did I mess up?" Lincoln asked.

"I don't know." She threw out her arms and let them fall to her side. The two teens just stood there and stared at each other for a moment, the tests still laying on the floor between them. Lincoln was the first to move, taking just a step to the side so he could sit down on his bed. Ronnie Anne went to sit beside him. Lincoln was still mute, but he looked over at her. After a moment, she realized his eyes were angled downwards, on her stomach. Heat rushed into her face, and she turned her body away while lashing out her arm to smack him in the shoulder.

"Ow." He recoiled, and she realized she had no idea why she did that.

"Sorry! It's just..." This was what she wanted. Lincoln was right in front of her, which was way better than a computer screen. She could be honest. "Lincoln, I'm seriously freaking out right now. I wanted to tell you."

"O-ok." He said nervously. He scooted over a little bit to be closer to her, and it became apparent to Ronnie Anne he was trembling. Then she looked at her hand and realized hell, she was trembling too. "Uh...were you trying to tell me the other night?" He asked.

"Yeah. But I thought you should hear it in person." She answered. Lincoln nodded.

"You were acting a little weird." He told her, giving her an urge to slap herself. She'd been trying to keep her cool that whole time. "I kind of thought it might be that, but there was no way." He swallowed nervously. "I guess it was." Ronnie Anne sighed.

"I've spent this last month being an idiot. There were signs for over a month, but I just ignored them because I swore there was no way either. Nothing went wrong! Did you see anything wrong?" Lincoln stared off into space for a minute, then shook his head.

"No." He turned to her, looked thoughtful for a minute, then stood up to go across to the other side of his tiny room to rummage in his drawers. Lo and behold, he produced the same box of condoms from that night, not bent or battered or anything. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the fact he'd taken such care stirred a weird almost pleasant tingle, but she couldn't pay attention to it. He walked over to the bed holding the package up to his face to scrutinize the package. "They aren't expired." He showed her the little print.

"They're shit." She took them from his hands and tossed them to the trash bin he kept in the corner. "I know we didn't do anything wrong." She looked over at Lincoln. He still looked like he was in shock. And she really hated that she was doing that to him, but it was out of necessity. "Lincoln, my parents are telling your mom what happened. They're going to want an explanation." That made the boy lurch.

"I have to tell my mom?" He looked absolutely terrified.

"I already had to explain to my parents, and it sucked. Lincoln, listen," She leaned in close to his face. "They already took my computer. They're thinking about keeping us apart for good. I don't want that."

"I don't want that either!" Lincoln frowned, but a little bit of determination had crept into his voice.

"Let's just try not to make them mad." How long was it going to take her parents to tell Lincoln's mom the full story? Probably not a lot. If they were going to plan something to say, they needed to do it now and fast. "When they ask, say it was my idea. I already admitted it."

"Your fault?" Lincoln sounded unsure.

"Yes, mine." She said impatiently. "I don't want them thinking you forced me or anything." Lincoln looked alarmed. "So just...act like a doormat. Just this once. It'll help both of us." She hoped to God it would.

There was suddenly a knock at the door, and both of them jumped up; it was easy to forget there were other people in the house when they were so focused on each other. "Uhhhh…." Lincoln looked around the room to see if there was anything incriminating. There wasn't, since they'd only been talking, but it'd be a lie to say either of them weren't extremely jumpy right now. "Yeah?" He called out. He should've just answered it, but his arms and legs were trembling too hard.

Ronnie Anne expected it to be one of his sisters come to bother him about something mundane, as they usually did. But it wasn't.

"Oh, hey mom…" Lincoln said nervously. The woman had only opened the door a crack and leaned her head in. And it was obvious to see something was wrong-her expression was different. Muted and very blank compared to the smile she'd had before. Her eyes swept the room, looking for who knew what. They lingered when they reached Ronnie Anne. There was nothing the Latina could discern from them, but she didn't like being stared at. She resisted the urge to take a step back and pull her hoody back up. "Mom?" Lincoln asked.

Her eyes shot to her son, and then her face _did _express something. Her lips started to tremble and her eyes got a little glassy. "You two need to come downstairs when you're ready." Her voice was low. "I already told everyone else to stay in their rooms." And then she left, closing the door behind her but still leaving the impression their little bubble here at been burst.

Lincoln sat back down on his bed, or more accurate slumped back and was lucky enough he hadn't moved too far from it. He'd looked scared and shook up before, but now he looked even more miserable. He looked guilty, and he was kneading his hands nervously. Ronnie Anne sat back down next to him.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln. I thought this would be better than your parents telling you. I know it's a lot to take in."

"Heh." He tried to sound casual, but the pitch was too high. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, and she squeezed back. It was neck and neck for as far as who had the most sweaty palm and terrified death grip. "Is that all they want to know?" He asked.

"I guess? I don't know what else they want us to tell them?"

"Uh..." Lincoln looked away awkwardly. "What we're going to do?" _We_.

"It doesn't work like that." She took him aback. She had to decide. But she wasn't blind to how screwed up it was. Lincoln must've realized it too.

"Right. Of course." Lincoln nodded quickly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to...uh...Did you decide already?" He asked meekly, and he held his breath, looking terrified.

"No." She shook her head, and he blew out a sigh of relief even though is was just a delay instead of a resolution. "I wanted to see you before I decided anything."

"Al...right." Lincoln said unsurely and waited expectantly for her to continue. And she really did, but where to even begin? And she didn't feel safe here, in an unfamiliar house, and while she knew the adults were downstairs waiting for them.

"How long do you think your sisters are going to stay in their rooms?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"I don't think they will." Fresh concern crossed Lincoln's face.

"We should go talk to our parents and get it over with." Ronnie Anne suggested. "We can talk later." She wasn't making excuses to delay the inevitable, but it still left an ugly feeling in her chest.

"Y-yeah." Lincoln agreed, although it was obvious that the prospect terrified him. They both sat there without saying anything, knowing what they had to do but not having the bravery to do it. Ronnie Anne thought she was the one who was going to have to do it, and was psyching her self up. But it was Lincoln who stood up first, turning around to grab her other hand and pull her to her feet as well-straight into a hug. His audacity surprised her, after the clear freak-out he'd just had. "Just in case this really is the last time we see each other." She squirmed out of his embrace and gave him a light shove.

"Don't talk crazy." She scowled. "Just follow my lead, like I said." She took a deep breath. "You ready?"

"No." Lincoln's voice cracked slightly. "But I'll try." He reached for his door and opened it. Confrontation awaited downstairs.


End file.
